Why is it, that when i go through some of the most challenging, exhausting and this-is-the-part-where-i-die situations in my life, that i’m showered with the largest amount of “you look so beautiful” compliments? Which are often followed by a response from me like ‘really?…” Thanks, coz I feel like cold leftovers”. Not only have countless people shared similar encounters, but I have also experienced it enough times to have me believe that beyond all this, lies a very essential message from the universe to us all. It is simply this; we are at our most breathtaking when we are vulnerable and unfiltered. Well, I can completely understand why this could sound sacrilegious or outdated in a world where choosing the right filter can mean the difference between 100 or 1000 likes, where make-up no longer serves to enhance intrinsic beauty but has formed the cornerstone of what has evolved into the definition of beauty today: looking as least like yourself and as much as Kim Kardashian as possible.
Perhaps, it is a bit late in the game to try to retrace our steps through this treacherous maze, having the presence of mind to not to throw the baby out with the bathwater by noting the great technological, artistic and innovative strides mastered by the cosmetic industry, that I certainly am not averse to an on-fleek eyebrow and a contoured cheekbone, and yes, I have enlisted, on occasion, the help of an app to look as flawless as is believable. However, I’ve often wondered what the accumulative value of two hours spent pursuing the perfect selfie and the insatiable pursuit of followers and likes really amounts to? What is the price of extreme vanity on the soul if left unchecked? It’s a simple equation; Practice makes perfect right? What we continually practice, we become better at, which leads me to a simple question: Are we becoming better at being less ourselves?
Could nature hold the answers? Without fail it surrenders to its purpose, without filter or pretense,surrendering to time and chance without struggle or vanity.Time and again,it is this very simplicity that draws us, we look to it for healing, solace and reassurance because no where else, have we found such vulnerable and unwavering honesty.
0 Comments