I enjoy putting on a little eyeliner and mascara as much as the next girl, but I am starting to worry a little bit about the nature of our society. Is it just me or are we getting a little too superficial these days? I wish I had a nickel for every time I heard or read about a woman who doesn't know how to leave their house without make up on. I'd be rich. And I'd also need a change machine because I would have a ton of nickels that needed to wrapped for the bank.
The truth is we women may have come a long way in the liberation department, but we've still got a long way to go in the self esteem department. I've heard it said that women don't dress for men, they dress for other women...well if that is the case, then why are we all being so hard on one another?? What are we so afraid of?
Is wrinkled skin or an undefined lash line the gateway drug to societal anarchy or something??? I want to say that once for all that make up does not make you prettier. It might make you shinier. It might make you colorful....er. But as for pretty?
Well, forgive me, but that is something that my mama taught me comes from the inside. Pretty is a glow that shines when you are confident, and perhaps well rested, and above all, kind of heart. You just can't gloss and coat and spackle your way to pretty. Pretty is a feeling you have about yourself despite what other people say.
I worry when too many people begin putting too high a premium on appearance as it is presented in a certain package and not enough emphasis on the inside and all the things that create a natural glow on the outside. When I watch anything on TV, which is far more than I am going to admit, I am stricken by how many ads are trying to get us to buy this or that with the promise that we will somehow be more spectacular.
Buy an eye cream so you feel younger. Buy this yogurt to feel skinner. Buy this toilet paper to feel cleaner. Buy this mascara to feel prettier. You get the idea. What ever gave us the impression that we could buy any of these feelings? Are feelings suddenly for sale?
None of these products really make you any of these things. Self acceptance is hard--especially in a world where judging one another seems like a pastime--but that doesn't make it less important. So this week, as you start off to work or school, or wherever your journey leads you, think about what is important to you and how you might be trying to please others instead of yourself.
And keep in mind, it's not the make up that makes you prettier. It's the glow of knowing and loving yourself that makes you SHINE!
The truth is we women may have come a long way in the liberation department, but we've still got a long way to go in the self esteem department. I've heard it said that women don't dress for men, they dress for other women...well if that is the case, then why are we all being so hard on one another?? What are we so afraid of?
Is wrinkled skin or an undefined lash line the gateway drug to societal anarchy or something??? I want to say that once for all that make up does not make you prettier. It might make you shinier. It might make you colorful....er. But as for pretty?
Well, forgive me, but that is something that my mama taught me comes from the inside. Pretty is a glow that shines when you are confident, and perhaps well rested, and above all, kind of heart. You just can't gloss and coat and spackle your way to pretty. Pretty is a feeling you have about yourself despite what other people say.
I worry when too many people begin putting too high a premium on appearance as it is presented in a certain package and not enough emphasis on the inside and all the things that create a natural glow on the outside. When I watch anything on TV, which is far more than I am going to admit, I am stricken by how many ads are trying to get us to buy this or that with the promise that we will somehow be more spectacular.
Buy an eye cream so you feel younger. Buy this yogurt to feel skinner. Buy this toilet paper to feel cleaner. Buy this mascara to feel prettier. You get the idea. What ever gave us the impression that we could buy any of these feelings? Are feelings suddenly for sale?
None of these products really make you any of these things. Self acceptance is hard--especially in a world where judging one another seems like a pastime--but that doesn't make it less important. So this week, as you start off to work or school, or wherever your journey leads you, think about what is important to you and how you might be trying to please others instead of yourself.
And keep in mind, it's not the make up that makes you prettier. It's the glow of knowing and loving yourself that makes you SHINE!
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