It’s very easy to get hung up on certain societal standards of beauty. Images on TV and in magazines drive us to go stare at ourselves in mirrors, where we silently castigate ourselves for our imperfections and curse our genes for producing noses that are too big, lips that are too thin, eyes that are too far apart and hair that . . . well . . . let’s not even go there.
But think for a moment about the people who you truly love to look at. The people whose presence makes you feel loved and whole. What are you thinking about as you call the details of their face to mind? The spacing of their eyes? The size of their pores? The elasticity of their necks? No, of course not. (continued below)
You are thinking probably of the shine in their eyes when the see you for who you are. You are thinking of the smile that lights up their face. You are thinking of the aura of wisdom and compassion that surrounds them. This is true beauty. The beauty that speaks from within. The beauty that speaks through our eyes, through our words. Through our actions.
And if you really want to look in the mirror and see how beautiful you really are, look in the eyes of someone who truly loves you — and see yourself shining there in their adoring gaze.
