BEAUTIFUL

see yourself with new eyes

By Christine Jayakaran

As I write this I see how the word beautiful has the words BE U in it. It kinda covers everything that I had on my mind to write today. When I look at myself and friends through eyes that are now thirty odd years old I realize that I don‘t regard beauty the way I did at twenty. Back then, let‘s say I was shallow and all about the external rather than the internal. Today when I look at girls all around me all I see is the creativity and magnificence of the Creator. We are tall, short, curvy, boyish,loud, soft, calm and aggressive (sorry I meant assertive, really, I did). We cover every inch of any given spectrum of humanities‘ qualities. Men out there, sorry for leaving you out of this, but the human race specifically has more attractive females than males. (And let‘s face it, girls add colour and so much more to your lives.) Getting back to the magnificence that is the female race, our beauty doesn‘t come just from our appearance but in all the layers that make us US.

Am I confusing you? Good ! So then I have your attention.

Let me illustrate this with me as your example. When I see myself I don‘t just see a petite girl with wildly unmanageable hair, a looong nose and stubby fingers instead I see a girl with eyes that are compassionate to the needs of others, hands that hold her children, shoulders that bear the burdens of her husband and family and legs that are constantly on the move as she juggles being a wife, mother and working girl. I don‘t judge my worth based on whether I have six pack abs (not like I‘m not working on it), or have glowing skin or have hair that always looks well- managed and tangle free. ( I wish!) Instead I‘m thankful for my sl-abs ( or whatever you call a mommy - tummy), because they are a daily reminder of the greatest gifts I have ever had and for my skin which may not glow as much as it did ten years back but now glows because of all the wet kisses that my children shower on me.

My value now is not based on just my intelligence, my appearance or my abilities ( though they are important) but more on who I really am.

I understand this value only when I have the courage to be me and not try and be someone else.

Every day I discover a little more of who I am and i realize that I truly am a lovely piece of work in progress. Slabs and all ! As you read this why don‘t you look at yourself with brand new eyes. Eyes that see deeper than the skin. Eyes that really see. Once you start seeing yourself for who you really are you will start seeing others through the very same eyes.