I’m too tall; I’m too short. I’m too loud; I’m too quiet. I’m too fat; I’m too thin. Why do we set standards impossible for us to pursue? We’re not supposed to wrinkle. We want to remain beautiful. We do not want to look old.
When you see an elderly couple sitting together on a bench sharing a sandwich and a few memories, however, you don’t notice the wrinkles; you notice the beauty.
The next time you look in the mirror, realize the beauty in your not-quite-as-big-as-you-want eyes or your so-much-bigger-than-you-want-hips. Those eyes: They have seen the beauty in nature and in people. They have seen the rebirth of flowers every year after a wintry snow. They have seen the glory in the eyes of a winner and the hope in the eyes of a loser. That is beautiful. Those hips: They bore your children, the future of the world. They helped to secure the coming of the next president, the next hero, the next lifesaver or, even better, the next mom and dad. That is beautiful.
So the next time you find yourself with your exfoliating facemask on, try to wash away the “ideal” image and look into the deeper meaning of what beauty is all about.
