Standards of Beauty: Are you Beautiful?
I read an article in the newspaper on beauty and how to look beautiful at any age recently. Truth be told, I was rather engrossed in its details of how people with different body shapes could dress a certain way and look 10 years younger! Ok, some recommendations were a little over-the-top perhaps but some of them did make sense and I was ready to explore. Trivial stuff no doubt but the influence of these articles has created a strong mental picture of what beauty standards are more acceptable to society in general.
And yes there are a million and one articles to tell us how we should or could look in order to look more beautiful and acceptable to the world around us. Products and rituals that keep us all pumped up on having that glow of youth and beauty. We are naturally drawn to these types of information that provide us with ways to meet the beauty standards set by the ‘world’ and often enough forget our true value. So much time spent on matters of beauty enhancement and acceptance yet it rarely satisfies.
MEETING THE STANDARD
So on that note, do you meet the set standard of beauty? Are you beautiful?
Is it a confident ‘Yes’, a low-toned, dejected ‘No’, or perhaps an unsure ‘Kinda, Sorta’ auto-response?
Think again before giving an honest answer and tell me if we’ve all gone a bit too far in succumbing to this ongoing madness of wanting to look ‘perfect’. This is of course not a new thing I know but timely reminders sometimes are necessary to jolt us back to focus on what matters most in life.
Some years back I recall reading an article called “Operation Beautiful” by Caitlin Boyle. The related blog which now is no longer active dealt with negative self-talk or “Fat Talk.” It was a good platform created to help women in particular regain control of their lives in simple, practical ways and build on the positive truths. Read her book ‘Operation Beautiful’ if you wish to explore.
Never too late to change the way we live out the rest of our lives. It’s a significant time when we as individuals can make a difference to change our world and the world around us for the better. How we see ourselves certainly have a direct impact on how we live our lives daily which in turn influences the people around us. The words we speak to ourselves and others carry great power to build or break. Choose wisely.
We’ve all been told that beauty comes from within but to actually believe and live it takes time and encouragement. I truly believe that little acts of kindness and encouragement can go a long way in helping ourselves and others see beauty in a different light. One power-filled positive word can change the course of someone’s life and to take responsibility today is a step in the right direction.
Just as the ‘proud peacock’, we too are created unique and beautiful. Nothing and no one can alter the truth of what God has personally handcrafted! Go spread the good news to the rest!
God’s PERFECT creation, YOU are!
Chew on this TLC Cookie:
“But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart’” (1 Samuel 16:7).
