Do you feel not pretty enough?

This week’s message comes from the Angels, Gods, and Goddesses deck by Toni Carmine Salerno and it represents seeing the beauty within yourself.

Because it’s there. All over your face and your body and your lovely heart. Beauty beauty beauty.

Imagine we lived in a world where we saw people just like ourselves in magazines, movies, and on television in a positive light. What if we grew up hearing that we were beautiful and people that looked like us were beautiful too?

Would you still feel not-pretty-enough?

The thing that robs us of our beauty is not those extra 5lbs, 50lbs, 100lbs. It is not imperfect teeth. It is not your big thighs. It is not your renegade body hair. It’s not your wrinkles and stretch marks.

It is the power of comparison.

Comparison robs us of our beauty. If we didn’t have anything to compare ourselves to, think of how happy you could be. We’ve grown up seeing a certain kind of beauty, bombarded with sensationalized stories that make us feel less-than, that make us feel like we’re never going to measure up to what is supposed to be sexy and beautiful.

We have to create our own standard of beauty. 

And stick to it, and share it. A standard of beauty that is about confidence, about believing you are fabulous even if you’re different, of fostering unconditional love and acceptance for yourself.

It’s about not giving a flying poo about what the media says.

This condition of comparison bleeds over to so many areas of your life and you’ve got to fight against it. Who cares if someone is more successful than you, or seems more put together, or has the perfect relationship? Don’t let comparison take away what you’ve been given.

The grass is always greener where you water it.

Do you give in to comparison? What do you find beautiful in yourself?