“You’re beautiful just the way you are. Shine on. And dare anyone to turn off the lights.” Mandy Hale
We are all beautiful. Created in love and light, we are beautiful. Our soul knows no physical limitations, and it is our spiritual conviction that drives the beauty within us. There is a lot said and written about inner beauty. They say that if you are beautiful on the inside, it shines through to the outside. I believe that beauty is fluid and takes many different forms. As humans, we are drawn to things we find beautiful. Our eyes, they naturally want to look at beautiful places, people and things. While I agree that being beautiful on the inside like being being kind, loving, forgiving, nurturing, and giving are truly important, outer beauty can be important too.
Our physical body is the vessel that carries us through life. We need to take care of it. We are beautiful in all shapes, sizes, colors, heights, and for many different reasons. I am not saying that being superficially beautiful on the outside, focusing only on that and being vein makes us beautiful on the inside. I believe that it all works together. Loving ourselves and taking care of the gifts we are blessed with goes a long way towards building self-esteem and self-worth. We all have the ability to take care of ourselves whether we have money to buy fancy clothes or not. Self-care is crucial to being in balance and being healthy. When we eat healthy foods and get regular exercise, we not only feel good, we look good too.
Do you feel beautiful? What defines that for you? I know for me, beauty starts with how I am approaching life that day. When I start the day by taking care of myself, eating well, exercising and taking pride in how I look, wearing something I feel good in, and take the time for grooming, the messages I tell myself are kinder and more loving. When was the last time you felt good about yourself if you didn’t bother to brush your teeth, comb your hair, change out of your pajamas or wash your face?
When I watch people progress in therapy, there is often a physical transformation as much as there is a psychological one. People visibly change. When they start feeling better, they start getting dressed, putting make-up on, grooming themselves, exercising, and eating better. It seems to be a natural part of the process. There is a lot to be said about the body-mind-spirit combination that people often talk and write about.
Even when you feel your worst, try to remember that God has blessed you with a beautiful vessel that carries you through this life. Nurture it and take care of it. See if doing some things that you know are good for you actually help you feel better. Live in love and light, and remember you are beautiful inside and out…