When asked, most of us will say that beauty comes from within.  We will say that it is the qualities we possess, not our physical features that make us most attractive. This is what I call our “public conversation” about beauty, and most of us really believe it.  But then, we stand in front of the mirror and the conversation changes.  The “private conversation” takes over. For many of us, and the first thing we see is what is “wrong”; a new stretch mark, a bump on the nose, wrinkles we swear were not there yesterday, acne, those extra few pounds of holiday weight we have yet to lose…

Thank you all for your continued support of Being Beautiful and its message.  Our community is growing and the conversations are starting - each one takes us one step closer toward changing the paradigm of beauty in our society to one that is healty, attainable and inclusive!

For the next few days, I have the honor of my article “Perfectly Imperfect” being featured in the Girls Gone Gorgeous emagazine.  Please following the link and check it out!  http://www.g3expressyourself.com/wordpress/

We all have two lives; the one we are living and the one we dream about.  Sure, the life we dream about may include many aspects of the one we are currently living, but there is always something more we dream of.  It could be gaining material wealth or creating a more solid foundation for ourselves.  It could be starting a family, or having a richer experience of the family we already have. It could be realizing success or simply loving the person looking back at you in the mirror.  We all have a life we dream of.  We always want something more – it is part of being human.

We have all fallen for it at some point, haven’t we?  We see a commercial, article or ad that shows a person with a glaring “flaw” that was miraculously and dramatically altered and now fits squarely into the current ideal of beauty.  This person apparently feels confident and happy, ready to take on the world now that this hideous “problem” has been corrected.  All they had to do was buy the advertised product and let the magic potion do its work!

The world was shocked and saddened by the news of the deadly earthquake in Haiti yesterday.  Right now, there are likely thousands of people who have lost their homes and now have only limited access to food, water, shelter and medical care.  This is a terrifying situation that is almost unimaginable to most of us.  It would be easy to turn off the news and tune it out, avoiding the uncomfortable images and going about our lives in the usual way.  I urge you not to do that today.  Ignoring suffering does not make it go away.  Do something to help!

Since the beginning of recorded history, the most celebrated beauties have been soft, voluptuous and curvy.  Natural beauty was something to be admired and celebrated.  But as society has progressed and technology has permeated our culture, this beauty paradigm has changed.  As a result of the strength and success of capitalism and the media that supports it, our culture has become enamored with technology and the changes it can make to the human body.  The result is the ever-growing idea that one can never be too thin - or have too much money, for that matter!  Natural beauty has come to be viewed as trivial while manufactured beauty has become a powerful status symbol. My question is, is this really a healthy ideal for us to embrace? Is this who we really want to be?