BEAUTY WITHIN US
It is not easy in today's world to feel truly good. We as women are attacked everywhere we look at pictures and words that tell us we are imperfect creatures. Millions of dollars were made by various companies and advertisers telling us that WE CAN achieve perfection by purchasing a “beauty” product; Eating or NOT Eating certain foods, exercising with this piece of equipment, or, hiding or revealing certain body parts… Lord, it never ends.
Unfortunately, with many of the women we ‘buy’ from it, literally. We spend every dollar on cosmetic products in our “cosmetics” cabinet, exercise videos, and exercise machines with one 'perfect' body image after another (which because of the hard work we can now afford to pay for liposuction removal), chemical procedures and extensions for our hair to achieve the most “flattering” styles, donating bodies to the extent of exchanging the beauty of the sacrifice to uproot, wax, shave, remove, cut, burn, and so on? So can we continue to chase after unattainable beauty?
Don't get me wrong, I prefer to shave my legs, apply nail polish and lipstick and makeup (when I know I'm going somewhere worse than a grocery store), and I don't wear socks and sandals. But I would like to think that if one day I wake up and can not wear the same cosmetic product, relax my racial hair or lose those 5 extra lbs; I knew I was still a good wife. And aside from physical accouterments, I will never stop being a unique, lovely person.
This is what worries me as I have a daughter. I look forward to the future and am apprehensive about the day when he will come home crying (as do many children) because someone at school told him he was bad. As we all know, children can be cruel and often repeat what they hear and read at home.
I would love to be able to not only tell her in my loving words but, also show her by my life example that she is a beautiful girl. I want her to see that she is beautiful; not because of what she wears on her body, face, hair, or any weight. I want my daughter to grow up with the knowledge that real beauty is what comes from within and shines out from the acts of kindness and consideration that you give to others, the love and self-respect you feel, and the joy that comes from sharing time with family. With friends, and the sacrifices you make for the happiness of others. The true beauty is to love yourself no matter what your shape, size, financial status, or education is. I hope that as she grows up in a world that seems to be full of anxiety, she will be able to pass on all her appearance with a smile of security and peace. I just get to that place myself.
It took me years of wasting and doubtful to finally realize that you can’t find in a bottle, that can only come from within.
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