We live in a very visual world. We live in a world that largely defines beauty as having a flawless physical appearance. In fact, the Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines ‘beautiful’ as: having qualities of beauty: exciting aesthetic pleasure. Then to define the word ‘aesthetic’ it says: pleasing in appearance. So, it is understandable to see why so many people judge their beauty based on their physical traits. I would like to make a statement, maybe not even knowing you. You are already beautiful… just the way you are.

To me it is tragic that so many people look in the mirror and see something very different to what most other people see. We are all victim to this in some degree. When I look in the mirror, the first things I see are: the bags under my eyes, wrinkles, thinning hair, and blemishes. It takes deliberate focus to see beauty. The beauty that I see in myself starts well under the surface, and the more I think about the person I am and the person I am still becoming, it is easier for me to look beyond the surface stuff to truly see exciting aesthetic pleasure.

Like most people, I enjoy some time looking at social media. Not a lot, but some. There are so many inspiring messages coming through, that it makes it worth it for me to invest a small amount of time scrolling. However, what disturbs me the most are the people who feel that they are not beautiful enough just as they are and put on masks of filters, airbrushing and enhancements. They believe they are making themselves more aesthetically pleasing, but they don’t understand what true beauty really is. Beauty starts inside all of us and emanates out through every pore. Beauty is an attitude. Beauty is a feeling. Beauty is for everyone. Beauty is for you.

This was powerfully reinforced for me this week in my podcast conversation with Rhianne Miller called Choose you. Rhianne, in her early 30’s, was diagnosed with breast cancer, which led her to a single mastectomy, a failed breast reconstruction and now she is living with one breast. She talked about how she felt about that, and how it impacted her feelings of her own beauty. Initially, she covered it up, wore padding and pretended that she had two normal breasts. But then she realised she was beautiful just as she was, and didn’t need to pretend to be something she was not to fit into the societal perception of beauty.

She is now very public about living with one breast, she is proud of the person she is becoming, and she knows she is beautiful just as she is, despite all of her flaws and imperfections. She has a passion for life that is addictive and that explodes through the speakers as you listen to her talk on this podcast. She is beautiful in every respect, and that beauty starts on the inside and then floods out of every pore. She even explained how people started to describe her after this shift. She said people would say, you have an incredible energy, or, you have beautiful eyes. They noticed the things that poured out of her as a result of her core being and the beliefs about herself.

You know what I am talking about here, don’t you? We meet people all the time and we can see their beauty based on their approach and attitude towards themselves and their life. I have met people who, if you were judging them on the Merriam-Webster definition of attractiveness, you would say they would not rate high on the scale, yet they emanate incredible beauty. I also meet people who do everything they can to be physically beautiful and accepted, yet are lacking that inner self-love and zest for life. It has a powerful effect on their physical appearance.

My point is this. You are beautiful just the way you are with all of your wrinkles, blemishes and imperfections. You don’t need to filter, enhance, or cover up the real you. You just need to look inside at the person you are. The values you hold dear, the purpose for your being, the heart you have for others, the excitement of the possibilities and opportunities that are there ready and waiting for you, and the love you have for yourself. When you focus on these things, you will start to believe that you are already beautiful, and that beauty will then start to flow out of you through every pore. Please believe me when I say, you are beautiful.