The Belly Love - The Perfect Canvas project is all about the celebration of all bodies, no matter who inhabits them or how they function. Bellies specifically are so often shamed into hiding, people and systems trying to fit them into a perfectly white, flat and unblemished mold - and if you are anything less, keep it all under wraps.

I'm here to say that, as someone else with a bloated, sometimes distended belly with tons of hair myself, that they've got it all wrong. Your belly supports you everyday, to keep you living and breathing. And even if it doesn't, due to any matter of physical (or even mental) disability, your belly tries its best to keep you happy and healthy despite everything it's been through with you. It deserves to be celebrated for its every detail, from the hair around your belly button to the way it spills out over your hips, or breathes around your c-section scar.

The belly project is all about this - celebrating your belly for all it does for you and meeting it where it's at. Self love is never easy, but being able to beautify an area that is so often chastised and scrutinized for all our lives is one way of taking that first step. After so much turmoil and shame, it should get its flowers too. But maybe just for this time, they'll be painted instead of given in a vase

- Sam McGowan
INSTAGRAM: ​www.instagram.com/sammcarts/

After being separated from my authentic
self, for quite some time, I have spent the
last 1744 days reconnecting.
1 day at a time, 1 step at a time, letting go,
trusting the process and asking for help!
My name is Terra, and I am a recovering
alcoholic.
I choose not to be anonymous, in hopes
that my story might help others crack open
that door, to a new beginning. ( A life lived
without Alcohol. )
We all have a unique story, and it took me
many failed attempts on my own before I
was desperate enough to reach out and ask
for some help.
I have no control over Alcohol, I finally
could admit I had a problem! I always
thought that an alcoholic had to be
someone who drank everyday, someone
who has lost their job, their license, ect.
I couldn't identify with those qualifications, and this is 1 reason that had
kept me sick. Not realizing that the path I
was on would surely lead me in that
direction.
A progressive disease I am told.
But whenever I had a drink or 2 , I found it
very difficult to stop at that. And if I did
manage to stop there, I was very irritable
and discontent.
I was always an all or nothing type drinker.
It had a hold on me, and I had real difficulty
living in the moment.
I rarely felt content.
Waiting for the weekend so I could let
loose and be free from my thoughts, and
my responsibilities for a while.
I was living my life on repeat, on the same
rollercoaster that I couldn't get off.
Today my life is beyond my dreams. My
heart is full, self love is now something I
practice daily. The opportunities that are
arriving are refreshing and readily accepted.

I can breath!  I can move with ease, knowing
where I'm supposed to be. I feel apart of my
community, I show up for my family and
friends and I am accountable. My life has
done a 180. I'm so grateful. My spirituality is
growing and getting stronger! I can look in
the mirror now and tell myself I am loved.
If you are struggling, please reach out. Ask
for help, you are worth it.
​
Having had done this incredible experience
with Jennifer, I now feel even closer to my
higher power, Mother Nature.
Staying grounded is continuous process
that I am willing to put my time into these
days. Thank you Jennifer for all your kind
affirmations, guidance, love and
acceptance sharing part of my story with
others!
Terra Barkwill

#recovery #selflove #addiction #alcoholism #AA #healing #photography #photographer #mentalhealthmatters