Constant Pressure
The reality of living in a world where we feel constant pressure to be beautiful, is that it is all too easy to obsess about what we have goin’ on outwardly, rather than focus on what is happening in our hearts. We feel this pressure from others, but if we are all honest- we feel it mostly from within.
There is not a female I know who isn’t concerned about this, from very young ages all the way through our elderly friends. I have a little woman in training in my life, who at the age of three, was crying and saying that she needed to dye her beautiful brown hair blond, so that she could be pretty. It literally made me cry. I often will see and elderly woman or two around town with heaps of makeup and obviously dyed hair, and I wonder what well earned wisdom-beauty she is hiding behind all the layers of colors.
Dollars and Sense
We reject considering what good and right for our bodies into unhealthy obsessions that rob us of our health. We spend hundreds , even thousands of dollars a year on makeup and beauty supplies and treatments. If you listen closely, just below the soothing and calming music at the salons, you will hear the cash registers clanking away as they rake in the money. We put thousands of chemicals on ourselves every day in order to try to look our best. We shift from healthy exercise into obsessing over our bodies at the gym.
But, what if we have it all wrong?
What if we put an equal amount of time and effort into learning about our personal likes and dislikes and chasing our dreams? How different would we feel about ourselves if we invested so much thought and effort into our spiritual identities? Who would we be, and what could we accomplish if we made decisions every day based on what is healthy, true, and right for our bodies and souls and threw out the options of others?
In the Presence of Beauty
Have you ever spent time in the presence of an elderly woman who is filled with love, grace, and kindness? Cloaked in white hair and wrinkles, her hands might be gnarled from years of work and serving her family. Gentle eyes, full of compassion embrace you as you speak. She has seen so much pain, heartache, joy, and happiness in her life. Her mission was to make her family feel loved and known and to help them become who they were created to be. Their needs were first, she put her own needs aside to meet theirs. Humility and kindness radiate from her. She appreciates people and is happy to spend time sitting with them and listening to them. This woman is a treasure of beauty.
What has she been through? There were hard things she experienced, what were they? Try to imagine all the lessons has she learned! How much wisdom does she have to share! How has she been able to survive this life and treat others with kindness and fully embrace herself? This is one of the most beautiful things to me, true beauty. This is what we should strive for. Who do we want to be in the sunset of our lives? What do we want our families to say about us after we have departed this world?
“Gray hair is a glorious crown worn by those who have lived right.” Proverbs 16:31 (CEV)
Manicure This
Having a body like everyone else’s and being well manicured from top to bottom does not make us beautiful. It will not make people like us, and it will not make people stay loyal to us. It will not create the deep connections with others that we long for. Humility, kindness, grace, and love… these are the things that make us beautiful. These are the things that will fulfill our heart’s longing to known and be known.
Comparisons
I challenge you to stop comparing yourself to the other women that you see around you, whether you are a woman in training, or you are a mom. You know who I’m talking about, these are the woman and girls that you see on social media and look like they have it all put together, they stare at you from the magazine rack as you check out with your groceries, you see her in a class, at school, or church, she is the mom at the co-op or in the carpool line who looks like she has it together all.the.time.
“Comparison is the thief of joy.” Theodore Roosevelt
Reality Check
The reality is, that’s not real. Embrace real, look in the mirror, past your own skin and gaze deeply into your own eyes. Is your heart and your soul who you want to be? We can’t fake the condition of our hearts… we can’t fake grace, kindness, and love. Don’t compare your insides to someone else’s outsides. Focus on making your insides better.
Putting in time and effort to work on our own hearts is one of the HARDEST and most rewarding things we can ever do. It will change the essence of our relationships, it will empower us and our kids to change the world, and it will bring us much needed soul refreshing peace.
The world needs, YOU
Let your beauty shine for the world to see. Be real. Be you. There is no one else like you, the world is counting on you.
Be free.
Be Beautiful on the inside,
and you will be beautiful on the outside too.
