Last night at one of the gyms my boyfriend and I work out at, I found myself staring at a woman's rear.  Her ass, her butt.  Yes, I was staring, hopefully covertly.  But the good news is that so was everyone else.  Of course, most of them were men.  There I was, looking at her as though she were something and not someone.  I had a moment of clarity where I understood what men do, have done, will always do--stare at those very attractive parts on women.

Now, of course, I've seen very beautiful women my whole life.  But I'm able to look and then go about my business.  Women look at women for a lot of reasons, many of them involving comparison, i.e., My legs are fatter, my hair is shorter, how did she get so tan? 

But I was really looking at this woman just because she was absolutely amazing.  Her rear was well, big but not big.  She was a small, perfectly smooth person, full of muscle, but her rear was hanging there on the precipice of her hamstrings, two orbs of not fat but "bigness."  She had a butt that probably has inspired artists and about 6,000 teenaged boys. 

While I sat on the row machine, I watched the gym crowd's heads go back and forth and she walked around the machines.  And when she got onto the hamstring machine, man, there was almost a rush for that corner of the room.

Can you imagine having that kind of effect on a crowd? 

I never tired of her butt.  I watched it as much as I could before going up to to some cardio. 

On the way home, though, I thought about women and how we perceive ourselves.  I wonder if that woman--relatively as short as she was--always wished she were taller, longer limbed, thinner in the hip area.  Has she always wished for larger breasts?  Does she even really know what kind of effect she has on people?  Okay, maybe she does, as she was wearing spandex pants.  But like most every woman I know, she probably wants to change some part about herself. She probably wishes for something other, different, not her.

My female students often complain about parts of their bodies, their hair, their skin, and I'm looking at them thinking, You are beautiful!  Why can't we see what we have?  Why can't we look at ourselves and say, "Man, not bad?"

Why can't we decide that we all have an amazing . . . whatever.  We all have an amazing butt, face, hair, skin thighs, feet, breasts.  We should walk around the world feeling confident, swinging our perfect selves through life, knowing that we are visions to behold.

So today's mantra is this:  I have a fabulous ass. 

I think it will work.

Jessica