The Three Tenets of BE Beauty
“I’m too short.” “I’m too fat.” “I have pimples.” Whatever the reason, many of us think that we’re not beautiful — usually due to a very narrow view of beauty that is portrayed in modern culture and by the media. But, there is beauty in each and every one of you! “How can that be?” you may be asking yourself. Well, let me tell you.
What does it even mean to be beautiful? Let’s look at the definition:
“The quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind, whether arising from sensory manifestations (as shape, color, sound, etc.), a meaningful design or pattern, or something else (as a personality in which high spiritual qualities are manifest).”
Do you see what I’m getting at? Beauty has a broad definition that all of us can fall under! Not convinced? The three tenets of BE Beauty — Self Love, Compassion to Others, and Love for The Planet — have proven effects on inner and outer beauty. While these three tenets could be discussed at great length, I’ll simply touch on the more easily achievable facts; because we all deserve to feel beautiful ASAP.
Self Love
With so much emphasis on being thin in Western culture, perhaps it’s not a shock that 80% of girls have been on a diet by the age of 10. Of course, we should all aim to be healthy — and part of that is being within a healthy weight range — but diets rarely focus on health and only focus on weight. In fact, certain diets (like low carb diets) that achieve quick weight loss are detrimental to our brain health and often cause negative mood. It would be one thing if dieting made us feel good but one statistic shows that 53 percent of 13 year old girls are unhappy with their bodies and a whopping 78 percent of girls who are unhappy with their bodies by the age of 17. So why bother!?
So, what does mood have to do with being beautiful? You probably don’t need research to tell you that when you meet a person that is “pretty” with a terrible attitude, she doesn’t seem all that pretty anymore. And, I’m sure everyone has met someone who isn’t conventionally pretty but whose positive attitude seemingly transforms them into the most beautiful person in the room. We’ve all seen it happen. Well, there is science behind that that proves who you are on the inside really does influence how people see you on the outside. This leads us perfectly to the next tenet….
Compassion To Others
It’s one thing for me to tell you from personal experience how to feel more beautiful, but it’s SO much better if I can tell you with the science to back it! Right? Well, thankfully, there’s so much science on our side at BE Beauty.
So, how does helping others make us more beautiful? Ever get that warm feeling inside when you do something as simple as hold the door open for someone? Survey after survey shows that doing good for others makes us feel good; and that takes us back to my previous point above — people who feel good look good to others!
How do you want your classmates to remember you when they open your yearbook 5, 10, or 20 years down the road? In one study, people looked at “photographs of classmates in their high school yearbooks for physical attractiveness, familiarity, liking, and respect. The researchers then had strangers… who had never met the people behind the photographs rate the same photographs for physical attractiveness… [and] the more the people in the yearbook were familiar, liked, and respected, the more physically attractive they were perceived to be.” Kindness is attractive! And anyone — of any shape, size, nationality, etc. etc. — can be kind.
Of course, it shouldn’t all be about how you appear to others. Feeling good physically and mentally should, first and foremost, make you feel beautiful; because you are!
Love Of The Planet
Perhaps most importantly, “the planet,” has much more to do with beauty that you might think. Nature is amazing and has awesome healing powers. From taking in ample sunshine and fresh air to feeling grass or sand underneath our feet, nature has the power to nurture.
Unfortunately, Earth is getting the worst of us at the moment. From pollution (especially fast-fashion pollution) to climate change, our little planet has seen better days. Without a beautiful Mother Earth, not only to we not have a home to thrive, neither does any other human or non-human animal.
Okay, as I mentioned above, I could go on and on about these issues (and I will in future blog posts!). I hope to cover specific issues that fall under one of these tenets — from using cruelty-free makeup, shopping second-hand, volunteering and so much more. But, for now this little taste of what Be Beauty has to offer will have to do.
In the mean time, tell me, “what makes you feel like a beauty?” I’d love to hear your answers! Whatever they may be, don’t ever forget that there is beauty in each and every one of you!