| Charlotte, NC: the walk from terminal E, Gate 22, to Terminal B, Gate 14, will forever be etched into my mind.
The first time I made that exact walk was a cold snowy night about 3 years ago. I was trying to get back home to Nashville from a business trip. I remember being lost in a sea of men wearing suits. They were rushing past me talking too loud on their cell phones, and running me over. I had on a suit, too, but mine suddenly felt cheap and ill-fitted. I was limping. I was exhausted. And I had to walk all the way from E22 to B14 (714 miles, to be exact.) When you walk through terminal E, you pass a bagel shop. Einstein’s Bagels. That’s where I lost my ability to keep the tears in my eyes. Wow, I remember it in such detail. I started down the ramp next to the bagel shop and suddenly felt so ashamed of my body—my appearance—that I wanted to hide. Racing thoughts overtook my mind: Belinda, you are disgusting. You are so fat that people won’t even make eye contact with you. You are a disabled mess. You do not deserve to be here. This is why you are alone—you take up too much space. Get smaller. BE SMALLER. And as much I knew intellectually those thoughts didn’t make sense, the more I limped to my gate, the more I cried. I felt weak, ugly and unworthy of, well, anything. I remember when I finally got to B14. I was in a full-on silent cry (which I didn’t even bother to wipe away anymore), and I looked in the big glass window and spotted a woman. I thought, “If I could only be her size, I would be happy. She’s a nice size, and she’s pretty. God, I would be so grateful if I could just look like her.” I kept staring at her in the glass. Wonder what her life must be like? I bet she’s going home to someone who loves her. She doesn’t know how lucky she is. …and then I realized… I was looking at my own reflection. People, are you paying attention??? I was wishing I looked like ME!!! Biggest.Slap.In.The.Face.Ever. So, the next day, I called Julian, the best trainer in the world. I was going to get some strength in my body. You know what? It worked. Julian taught me that I was way underestimating myself in my ability to build my strength. Not long after getting my hiney in ‘shape,’ I found Susan Hyatt. Susan started the BARE program which is in total alignment with my message in the world. “I need to be a BARE coach,” I said. And now I am. And after hundreds of hours of coaching, I’m on my way to becoming a Certified Master Coach in 2017. So now let’s break it down, Gang. Guess where I ended up tonight? Tonight, tired and with a funked out knee, I arrived at gate E22 in the Charlotte airport. Guess what gate I had to walk to to catch my connection? Wait for it… Big fat B14. When I looked at the monitor tonight and realized I was making the exact walk that left me in tears three years ago, I laughed. Tonight I have a small knee injury so I’m limping again. Tonight I’m wearing a suit, albeit a different one. And tonight, when I approached the bagel place, I took a deep breath, put my shoulders back, and I sashayed (with a totally cool limp) all the way to B14. I OWNED my space. And all the men in suits having loud cell phone conversations? Yeah, they stepped aside—because I wasn’t moving. Tonight was my reckoning. Tonight, I settled a score, and it was SWEET. I am enough. I am worthy of the space I inhabit. And limp or no limp, the boys in suits can get out of my way. #AskAboutMe #AskMeAboutBARE |