What beauty is

Society spreads lies about beauty in human form.

Individuals are told what they should look like every single day, when staring at advertisement. The point that must be achieved is always perfection, always something out of reach of the average individual. In pursuit of this, people spend money to achieve, they may choose the path of surgery, they may sink into depression because they don't match up or they may develop eating disorders as a result. So many people end up looking in the mirror each day and are continually disappointed by what they see. It's damaging and it ends up being such a huge part of how we see each other, how we see ourselves.

I have been thinking about this problem in terms of society in general for awhile. My realization is that some of the people who are a part of this very same society have started fighting back, starting to expose the lie. It's encouraging to me that there is a backlash against these ideals that have been perpetuated for so long.

Dove's "Campaign for Real Beauty" / (www.campaignforrealbeauty.com): The most interesting thing about this is that this is a company within the beauty industry, fighting from the inside out. They are standing among their peers and saying there is a lie behind what the industry says. Also, they strive to use real people, normal people in their advertising. One of the videos from the campaign is below, more are on the website.


"You Are Beautiful" project / (www.you-are-beautiful.com): This project is more subversive in a way, simply because of the way it is being dispersed. It relies on individuals getting behind the project and supporting it. What would your thoughts be if a random intrusion into your day was an out of place sign or sticker with the words "You Are Beautiful"? Would it make you think?

"We Are Loved" / (www.weareloved.info): Many reading this post will have some familiarity with the project, or may even own a shirt with this logo. It still deserves introspection though as a reminder. Much of this project is focused on the fact that there is something worth living this life for, that there is a reason for even being alive. It is something to inspire our interactions with others, our artistic expression and also our view of ourselves. The meaning in our life changes when we realize that we are loved, that we are not just on our own.

"Love Wins" is an idea that came from Rob Bell at Mars Hill Church: Despite all the bad in the world, the idea that love is greater than all of it. It is a greater force than anything we can experience. It presents the idea of living this out in human life, interacting with others with this idea in mind. It challenges us to think about what that would actually look like, to practice love towards all of God's created individuals.

Psalm 139:14 "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." This is how our creator, God, sees His creation, us. As followers of Christ, do we (do you, do I) actually believe this as truth? It is not an easy thing to accept, not an easy thing to understand. But, like all of the great things God has for us, if we do the work to wrestle with it, our lives become fuller/richer and we are able to live within the reality that God has created for us.

In thought,
faye