Guest Contributor
By: Lydia Criss Mays, President of See Beautiful™
We could all use a little more focus on seeing beautiful. Mirror, Mirror games don’t help us see beautiful.
To begin a typical day, many of us succumb to the following routines:
Undress. Look in mirror. Judge yourself. Shower. Look in mirror. Judge yourself. Comb hair. Look in mirror. Judge yourself. Apply products to hair. Look in mirror. Judge yourself. Apply face lotion, anti-aging lotion, and/or wrinkle reversal serum. Look in mirror. Judge yourself. Apply make-up while looking in mirror judging yourself. Dry and style hair while looking in mirror judging yourself. Search for just-the-right outfit. Put on outfit. Look in mirror. Judge yourself. Try another outfit. Look in mirror. Judge yourself. Look in mirror.
Now, we agree with Feelgood Style that there is indeed, “nothing wrong with wanting to feel beautiful,” it’s just that “feeling beautiful” isn’t often what we’re doing when we’re staring at our reflection in the mirror. We’re judging. We’re critiquing. We’re comparing ourselves to the airbrushed models on the covers of magazines. We are doubting ourselves and that mindset has to stop. We have to end the “Mirror, Mirror on the wall” shenanigans we have gotten ourselves into.
The following quotes are from females and represent a growing number of women who are losing the “Mirror, Mirror” battle because they are gauging their beauty based on pop culture’s definition. These heartbreaking comments were also the catalyst for a movement called, See Beautiful™:
“I need to lose weight.” (10-year-old girl)
“You look fat.” (8-year-old girl to another 8-year-old)
“I hate the way I look.” (8-year-old girl)
“I want prettier clothes.” (3-year-old girl)
“My hair looks stupid.” (6-year-old girl)
“I can make myself throw-up and get skinny.” (10-year-old girl)
“I hate the way society makes me feel. Sometimes it just doesn’t seem worth it.” (21-year-old girl)
See Beautiful™ was designed to empower women to see the beauty they inherently possess and empower all to see the beauty in the world. Pop culture would like us to think beauty exists in, or is defined by, reality t.v. shows, airbrushed models on magazine covers, or manikins in storefront windows. In an effort to capture some of the beauty that exists in each of us and all over the world, See Beautiful™ has started a movement. Will you join us? See Beautiful™:
- Celebrates the inherent beauty of girls and women;
- Shares beautiful work of non-profit organizations committed to seeing beautiful;
- Honors stories of kind, selfless, individuals;
- Showcases opportunities to see beautiful in the world; and
- Supports a commitment to making the world a better place.
We could all use a little more focus on seeing beautiful. Mirror, Mirror games don’t help us see beautiful. We seek beauty when we stare at our reflection in the mirror, yet beauty can’t be observed in a glass reflection. Beauty is observed in the way we see ourselves. Does your actual reflection include efforts to be kind, equitable, fair, giving, and loving?
From today onward you have a choice: (1) Continue playing the “Mirror, Mirror” game with yourself and keep the cycle of judgment alive; or (2) Celebrate the way your reflection empowers others to see beautiful. When this happens, there’s no doubt you’ll start seeing beautiful too.
To learn more about See Beautiful visit seebeautiful.com.
We’re also on Facebook and Twitter.
Image Credit: Creative Commons photo by WTL Photos
One Comment