What Beautiful Looks Like
Here’s another liberating thought:
So what would it look like to be beautiful today? That’s a hard question for most girls and women. The quick response would usually entail adjectives such as taller, thinner, blonder, straighter teeth, wider eyes, smaller nose, or a myriad of other physical features.
What if you looked in a mirror and saw the words “this is what beautiful looks like” right above your reflection?
I volunteer with the Eating Disorders Action Group and this is what we’re bringing to people in our community - a mirror with those words over it, and the opportunity to see one’s self under that heading, in full public view. It is unnerving for some and liberating for others. But without changing a thing about a person’s appearance, they can go from ugly to beautiful with only a shift in perception.
I wanted to try it out. So I started a Flickr pool. (Yes, another one.) Go ahead and give it a shot. What do you look like right now, today, this minute? This is what beautiful looks like.
Posted by mo pie
Filed under: Advocacy, Feel Good Friday, Meta, Tidbit
Awesome.
What if you looked in a mirror and saw the words “this is what beautiful looks like” right above your reflection?
When I was younger, I used to drink in a bar where someone had written over the ladies’ bathroom mirror, “This is not a trick mirror. You are beautiful.”
The first time I saw it, it made my eyes well up.
I might have been drunk, sure. But still. Things as simple as this can be incredibly powerful.
I think if that was over my mirror, I would cry every time I looked at it. Not that I don’t realize that maybe, just maybe, I’m still beautiful. Sort of. But seeing it written out? That would just make me sob, and I can’t say exactly why. Just something powerful about it.
This reminds me of a mural in downtown Chicago that I pass all the time, put together by this group. And the dressing room graffiti project. AWESOME.
I just took a self portrait with my cell phone and said out loud This is What Beautiful Looks Like when I was looking at it. And I burst into tears. Wow. That was something. It was true.
I don’t think I would want to be THAT beautiful, actually.
I once met a girl who is stunningly beautiful. Really. Breathtakingly. Naturally. And I genuinely couldn’t concentrate on what she was saying, because I was too distracted by looking at her.
Bear in mind, I’m female and straight.
So… I think that might be a slight disadvantage in life, similar to not being taken seriously because of looking younger than you are.
I think I’m beautiful sometimes, and the rest of the time I’m moderately attractive, and that’ll do me. After all, we are more than our looks…
i did it! i wrote “this is what beautiful looks like” on the mirror directly across from my bed. now i’ll see that every time i walk into my room. it is a really kool thought.
[okay, y'all are going to hate me, but please respond to my post in the flickr pool. i'm srsly clueless.]
goldiloks, I answered your question over at flickr. You’ll see, it’s very simple. :)
That’s such a great idea! I’ve looked at myself and said “you are beautiful” before on days when I was feeling down about myself though. It’s quite a burst of positive energy. :D
I love simple positive ideas like this. I did it and it felt weird, especially since I am sick with a cold and my hair is all matted and my nose is red. But I am going to do it again tomorrow!
This is one of the things I love about my husband. At least a couple of times a week, he just looks at me and says, “you’re beautiful.” I know self-esteem comes from within, but it feels good to hear from someone else too.
Did I seriously spell my name as “Margart”? Wow.
Stupid keyboard. The ‘e’ (and ‘t’ and ‘f’ and ’s’ and many others) all require special pressure to get them to work. Sigh.
I love the photos! I’ll post one tonight, but please keep ‘em coming!
I hear and obey MoPie! I looked up at my work computer and thought “hey, I have photobooth!” So I took a photo RIGHT THEN, like you told me, and added it to the pool. Then I thought “crap I need a haircut”. Little bit against the spirit of the project, but I’ll keep trying.
It’s weird today because I got a laser treatment on the surgery scar on my face. It should be a good thing, but it’s made me feel so much more aware of the scar than I usually am that I’ve been feeling fragile all day.
ok the first one i picked thru so i could find one i liked but then i thought, and posted, why the hell isn’t what i look like right now good enough?? and I have decided it is and posted it, but now i have two big heads on there, lol this is what beautiful looks like …. i love it, thanx xx
I am 42. I have wanted to be beautiful my whole life. I know I never will be and it is literally destroying me. That is all that seems to matter in this world.
I weighed in today @ 132.6 being 5′6″ and my lying scale said BMI of 28.3 I have always been underweight till the last 2 yrs because of surgery and accidents. Now I am in the overweight category according to my scale. I am a size 7 in Juniors. When did this become overweight. I totally skipped normal weight!! Where was it I missed it ! People still say I am skinny all the time. But the goverment has labeled me different. I guess I need to work out 7 days a week w/ a personal trainer to become marathon ready in shape to be “normal”. wish I had a picture for you to judge. I also have long legs and arms and my waist even when I was a size 3 and 12% unhealthy BMI my waist was never smaller than 28 inches. They do not account for body type at all! Sorry rants from the skinny fat person!! This is BS to try to adhere to. PS My Dr thinks I am good and was glad I gained weight!
Angela, it sounds like your scale is either broken or it thinks you’re 3 feet tall. At 5′6″ and 132.6 lbs you have a BMI of 21.4, which is on the low end of the “normal” range.