Sunday, March 4, 2012

Embrace Your Real Beauty


“A woman whose smile is open and whose expression is glad has a kind ofbeauty no matter what she wears.” ~Anne Roiphe

“In so much as love grows in you,so in you beauty grows.”
~St. Augustine


Beauty is a cultural agreement of what physical traits are most desirable. To evaluate yourself on external criteria that are beyond your control is to sentence yourself to a life of trying to mold yourself into an ideal of what is currently considered beautiful. This type of behavior reinforces low self-worth by repeating thoughts that you are not good enough the way you are. It drives people to have unnecessary cosmetic surgery and to develop hate for their own natural physical characteristics.

Real beauty comes in all shapes, ages, colors, cultures, and every other variety imaginable. There is nothing more attractive than self-confidence mixed with compassion, or a warm, authentic smile. Realize that beautiful isn’t an adjective but an action verb. It is an expression of being. Act beautiful by being loving and compassionate. Act beautiful by being an expression of joy to those around you. Be an example to others. Stop trying to mold yourself into the media’s idea of beauty and embrace your own beautiful traits as the uniqueness that is part of what makes you you. Real beauty comes from within.

Even those of us who have fended off the peer pressure of culturally conforming to current beauty standards can be surprisingly affected by loss of youth. You may feel less than you used to be because the years have etched a few lines on your face or you no longer have the body of a twenty-year-old. Real beauty comes from the charisma and radiance of self-confidence and inner joy. It never matters how old you are. Age is a number. The higher the number, the more you have experienced and the wiser you become. Don’t let growing older be a cause of distress. Let each year be a badge of honor you display gracefully. (And remember to stretch!)

Fluffy or thin, old or young, wrinkle free or etched to perfection, love yourself. You are perfectly beautiful just the way you are!

Lesson:

Realize that beautiful isn’t an adjective but an action verb. It is an expression of being.

Exercise:
Make a list of what makes you beautiful as a person. Start each sentence with “I am beautiful …”

Examples:
I am beautiful when I help others.
I am beautiful when I smile.
I am beautiful when I play with my dog.
I am beautiful when I embrace who I am with love.

Realize that beautiful isn’t an adjective but an action verb. It is an expression of being. Be real. Be beautiful.

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