We are paying to put on beauty, meanwhile our true beauty remains diminished. The reason why we consider things like clear skin, shiny hair and a slender body as beautiful is because, at the most fundamental level of our innate instincts is the need to procreate with a healthy mate that will carry our DNA to the next generation. It boils down to survival of the fittest.
What has happened, however, in the past century is that we have learned to fake health. The quality of our food continues to diminish and disappear and our level of activity has become a recreational option. We treat our bodies with little respect or thought for what it actually needs to function at its optimal level yet we are still able to look completely "healthy". It's like finding a perfect knockoff for a Coach bag - you appear to own the luxury without actually paying for it.
And the beauty industry has tapped into it. You wanna eat what you want, drink what you want, live as hard as you want and still look great? Then buy our product! A friend pointed out the clever wording that advertisers use - "Healthy Looking". Be it skin, hair, body, name it. But is healthy looks as healthy does? What are we really buying when we shell out $80 for that skin cream that promises a glowing even complexion? I submit to the court that we are buying a lie. And even worse, most of these products are so riddled with toxins that we're harming our bodies even more by using them. You know what gives glowing clear skin? Hint, it didn't come from a lab but you could grow it if you wanted to.
But who wants to eat fresh vegetables and fruits and lean meats and beans and grains, it's all so hard and confusing. Just give me a pill and hand me my diet Coke, I got no time to figure that stuff out.
We live in a society where we have traded in our health for the quick fix. We've so disconnected from our bodies that we leave it to doctors, magazine articles and makeup products to carry us through life so that we don't actually have to take responsibility for the consequences of our actions. That is until our doctor tells us we've developed cancer, or diabetes or we see our pale drawn complexion in the morning before we can paint on the facade.
Do we want to just look healthy or do we actually want to be healthy? Our skin is the last thing to get nutrition. So what is your skin telling you? As you see yourself makeup free, start to connect with your body, with what it's telling you it needs. Begin to see your body, not as a flawed reject from the manufacturer but as the miracle that is you. Everything that goes on in your body in every second is a miracle. As I sit here and type I think of all that is going on between my brain, my fingers, my cognitive and sub-concious thought. Our bodies are a thing to be admired and celebrated, not picked apart and "fixed".
I challenge you now to close your eyes and place your hand upon your heart. Feel it beat as it pumps life giving blood to every inch of your body. Feel your breath go in and out without thought. Become aware in this moment of how many thoughts your brain can sort through in a second all while making sure everything is working as it should. Take this moment and honour your body and with that thought look at yourself in the mirror and acknowledge the miracle you are.
You are no knockoff - You are a miracle!
