The world is chock-full of self-help, self-worth, self-awareness books, brochures, magazines, award-winning movies, seminars, and medications, and they are all telling us the same thing:
"you are beautiful"
"you are worthwhile"
"you are brave"
and we want to believe it.
We want the truth to be that God really does love us unconditionally, and that no matter how lame we may think we are, we are and always will be deserving of love.
So, we plan lessons, seminars, and activities about self-worth, self-identity, self-confidence, and we build each other up, we feel the sweet confirmation of the Spirit, and we believe it, just for second.
Then we go home, and the next time we look in the mirror, we expect to see beauty.
Because, after all, we are beautiful, right?
But sometimes we don't.
sometimes we see
weight,
lack of weight,
zits,
dark circles,
crooked teeth,
stringy hair,
way too thick hair,
or
no boyfriend
wrong boyfriend
desperation
age
or
regret,
fear,
sin,
mistakes,
weakness
and all of a sudden, the words "YOU are beautiful" becomes a mockery of what we thought we knew to be true, and the evidence to the contrary is literally staring us in the face!
But we're supposed to be beautiful!
So, being among the "they didn't skimp when they made you" body shape varieties, I don't know about you, but not using the"fat' word makes me feel like an ostrich who buried its head in the sand.
Yo, dude, I've got eyeballs!
I can SEE that this doesn't fit, so not using the "f" word doesn't make me feel better.
It makes me feel like I am running from reality.
But, I'm supposed to be beautiful.
But I don't see it.
So, what's the next logical thought?
Here I am, someone who believes in God, and good things, and I am not beautiful.
What did I do wrong?
I am not enough.
I somehow didn't make the "beautiful" cut.
It's the only conclusion that makes sense, right?
I am not enough.
The funny thing is, my feelings tell me I'm right, my heart tells me I'm wrong, and my brain is playing Switzerland.
"Beauty is on the inside" they say.
Yes, well my INSIDES are covered in cellulite, so not much beauty there.
"It's how you act that makes you beautiful" they try again.
ANYONE can act, but that doesn't make them real.
SO what the FLUPPITY FLIP FLIP am I supposed to do?
Then it hit me, like an apple from the proverbial tree.
It's okay to be ugly.
Huh?
the bad hair days, the dark circles, the weight, the lack of weight, the zits, the eyes too close together, all the ugly of everyday life, of the average, ordinary, sub-par everything, yeah, all of that.
It's OK to be that way.
I highly suggest that the next time your feelings tell you you've failed or that you are not beautiful, dance around in a circle yelling"IT'S OK TO BE UGLYYYYYY" at the top of your lungs. You'll be surprised at how good you feel.
You see, we've all got this idea that beauty has something to do with the level of attraction we create.
Well, you're absolutely right. Beauty has EVERYTHING to do with attraction.
But it's not what you think.
Beauty is in the make-up.
The spiritual genetic make-up, that is.
Beauty is light. Beauty is truth. Beauty is about real identity. And it attracts all that is good.
Beauty is not a face, form, or hair color. Beauty is simply represented by those things.
But, beauty as we define it, is in fact, pretty much irrelevant.
Beauty is real.
Ugly is also real, therefore, it is beautiful.
Besides, there really is no such thing as ugly. Only expectation. Of other ugly people.
HA
You're probably thinking right now "Umm..what's that one quote from the Incredibles...?"
This one?
Helen: Everyone's special, Dash.
Dash: [muttering] Which is another way of saying no one is.
That is exactly what I am saying.
Get over it.
You can't make yourself worth more because your face is covered in synthetically created substances, which highlight the features that pretty much everyone else has too. Features like eyes, ears, lips, etc.
Get over yourself, well, the lying, selfish, dumb part, anyway.
Set yourself free from the 'gilded cage' of expectations caused by insecure people who weren't bold enough to embrace the "ugly" and see the real pretty.
P.S. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE makeup and a pair of really fabulous heels, but I would also love it if we spent more time embracing the joy of living in a body, rather than fussing over if our faces or cheeks make the "sexy" cut.
You're right, you got me. This blog post is just another one of those "self-help, self-worth, self-awareness books, brochures, magazines, award-winning movies, seminars, medications" ploys to get you to see it how it really is.
You are beautiful.
And when you feel ugly, just rock it. It looks good on you.
