Shared Wisdom Guest Post – Featuring Jenina Marie from Intheclotheset.com

Every day should be a celebration of beauty. I know that we hear this any time some cosmetic giant wants to sell a new moisturizer, but I mean it as more then just marketing buzz words.

We are all guilty of taking ourselves for granted, of being overly self-critical. Just this morning I looked in the mirror and thought “what’s wrong with me now?” Picking at my face, checking off all the lines and bumps as if they were proof of my imperfection.

Had anyone else looked at themselves and said such a thing, my immediate reaction would have been “WHAT? Are you kidding me? There is nothing wrong with you.”

What would it mean to be so compassionate and loving with myself? What kind of energy would that create? The idea that we should look upon ourselves as anything less then perfect is becoming uncivilized to me.

In my twenties I did all I could to “improve my looks” when really I was as young and beautiful as I would ever be. Now in my thirties it’s much less about improving my looks and much more about improving myself.

At some point there was a realization that imperfection is very hard to define in a flesh and blood being. We’re all perfectly-imperfect, truly heavenly creatures, walking around, communicating and loving the way we do.

Now I’m just looking for a way to direct the same acceptance I’ve shown the world around me, on myself. I look forward to the freedom that comes with that kind of self-love.

I am earnestly & consciously trying to see my place in it and be of it without wasting two seconds of my life thinking about what it might mean to anyone else.

True divinity comes from that acceptance.

This stylish life, the fashion and the frenzy that surround the next “great look” is meaningless, really. Even if we were to be right on trend, perfectly encapsulating the media’s ideals of “beauty.” We will always do so in comparison to someone or something else, every time we are asked to decide “Who wore it best?” Every time we are forced to rate something “Hot or Not.” Figuring out “Who has the better bikini bod?” fosters the habit of standing next to one other and asking that in ourselves.

How can we be our best if we are constantly comparing ourselves to the world outside our bedroom mirrors? What’s the point of wearing the best and having the best if we aren’t being our best?

We should be healthy, be ourselves, and be happy, but by all means not be comparing ourselves to each other or the ideals the media-marketing machine present. Every time we size ourselves up to another person, to another anything, we are counting ourselves out entirely.

The “survival of the fittest” mentality isn’t working for me anymore. We are all fit. We are all beautiful, and we are all here now knowing better then any generation before us. The point is to contribute to the greater good, leave this world in better shape then we found it, and stop worrying about anything else

The game of compare and despair forces someone to come out the loser and the next best thing always threatens to beat us at our own game anyway.

Life is a series of shuffles and deals that ask us to know when to hold and when to fold. Self love and acceptance are like the wild cards in the deck. Know who you are, know your limitations, accept and love everything about that, and you’ll have a hand that’ll beat the compare and despair attitude, every single time.

Love yourselves, trust yourselves, be yourselves!

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