What is beauty?
by Brenda Dwyer

What is beauty? Where does one find it? How does one possess it? Is it external, internal or both? In general, as women, we spend vast amounts of time and money on trying to attain it. Foolish. For truthfully, either you are beautiful or you are not. True beauty is radiated from the inside-out. True beauty does not fade with time, it is timeless. True beauty can not be attained with nips and tucks. True beauty can not be found in a jar or a perfume or in a tube of red lipstick. That which we nip and tuck will one day not only be unable to defy gravity but it will wrinkle and spot. That which we apply to our skin will only cause us angst in the constant seeking of something even more "effective". That which we put on smooth lips today will be patted on lips that loose their smoothness over time. We, as women, need to recognize that beauty is not as rare as we have been led to believe it is. We need to know that all of the methods we use to try to enhance ourselves is all just "smoke and mirrors" ... how will we ever age gracefully if we never understand the real truth? Beauty is attainable ... look in the mirror. Just look into your own eyes. First thing in the morning ... no make-up, nothing hiding your skin. What do you see? Let us hope that you see a very unique individual who is unlike anyone else ... anywhere. Look closer. Oh, what?! You can't see past your own "imperfections"? YES YOU CAN. (Funny those imperfections ... seems we are usually the only ones who can see them.) What if you hadn't been brainwashed by the media all these years and you were willing to just be YOU? Perhaps it is more personal for you ... perhaps you have allowed someone at some point in your life to define you. It is common for those who don't love themselves to constantly point the finger at what THEY THINK is imperfect in you. You can't see the beauty right there in front of you? YES YOU CAN. We need to reprogram ourselves to know that what is truly worth our time ... is to stop working on that WHICH IS ALREADY BEAUTIFUL & UNIQUE ON THE OUTSIDE and start working on that which greatly affects/effects everyone around us ... that which is on the inside, in the heart. We need to listen more, gossip less, love more, laugh more. There are so many things which distract us everyday from the true beauty that is right in front of us. YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL ON THE OUTSIDE! YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL ON THE OUTSIDE! YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL ON THE OUTSIDE! Are you beautiful on the inside? If you aren't ... YOU WILL NEVER RADIATE TRUE BEAUTY. Do you possess timeless beauty? It seems 2009 may be a year of reckoning and introspection. Perhaps we, as women, need to readjust our idea of beauty. Over the years I have heard many women proclaim many other women to be beautiful, or other "things" to be beautiful. It is so easy to see the beauty in the rest of creation but wouldn't it be nice to realize the beauty within ourselves as well? YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL. Embrace it.

People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.
-Elisabeth Kubler

I Wonder...
by Brenda Dwyer

I have known many women over the years who have adopted other's ideals to be their own, even though they weren't really "feelin' it" themselves. I wonder how much different our world would be if women, in particular, refused to be led like lambs to their own "appearance slaughter" and dared to be different. Dared to dress in clothes that really made them feel good as an individual and reflected their personal taste. I wonder what it would be like if we all "painted" our faces the way we would if we didn't feel so pressured to look a certain way so as not to "offend" the masses. Would we even bother layering chemicals on our face? Most men don't wear any "chemicals" on their faces all day long, as we do. Is this why they seem to age so much better than women, in general? It would be such an interesting world, wouldn't it? It is not just our culture that subscribes to such mundane-ness ... even tribal women around the world are held to a set of "pre-ordained" standards and dress themselves accordingly both in cloth and "paint". I, too, subscribe to certain aspects of what is "acceptable" to the masses. We probably all do. I just really think it would be so much more interesting & comfortable if we didn't.

Hold On
by Brenda Dwyer

Now, before anyone starts in on me, I admit that YES ... I wear make-up. That's not what this is about. I love to see the different effects it has on my overall appearance. Oh, and did I hear someone say hair color? I LOVE hair color! It is one of the most fun things I do for myself! I love playing around with the color. Beauty, I agree, is defined from the inside-out. My mother is a very wise woman and brought me up realizing that. The outer appearance, for me, is just a blank canvas that is so much fun to play around with! Just as I loved playing with and dressing up my dolls when I was a little girl, I love to play around with hair and make-up today. From the time we are so very young we are only too aware of what the world considers beautiful and we tend to hold ourselves to that standard. What a shame. What a sad way to live.