Well, I do... I pulled it off of Pinterest last night and for some reason this woman's face has really struck a chord with me... I mean look at her, she is beautiful... her smile, that twinkle in her eyes, the happiness oozing out of her pores, and not to mention the fact that she wears her wrinkles, grey hair and that crazy ass hair piece with a brandishing style and confidence that you rarely see these days... I mean it, to me she is the very definition of beautiful... I think we women of America (and many parts of the world over) could take a little lesson from this lady...
Everyday I am inundated with subtle and not-so-subtle reminders that I need to be perfect... perfect- body, face, wife, mother, household, friend, employee, etc... we live in an era of advertising, the likes of which we have never seen before, every moment of every day is filled with the information that lets us know that there is always room for improvement in ourselves, that we need everything perfect if we ever hope to be happy...
Perfect = Happy...
Advertisers try to sell us happiness by letting us know that we can not be happy without whatever product they are selling... That's right happiness is bought, they sell it everywhere... but there is a catch... the catch is that you never can really buy happiness, because as soon as you purchase said happiness (think- car, clothing or electronic device etc.) a newer better version of it comes along... and you can't be happy until you get that new one now... or there is a trick as in you can't be happy until you have two things that are totally opposite of each other simultaneously (think- "perfect" body but still able to eat delicious and decadent food or having a satisfying career while raising a healthy, harmonious and "perfect" family.)
And just who is buying into this giant load of crap?!
I'll tell you who... you and me... that's who!
No way! Right?! We are to smart for that crap, right?! We know better, RIGHT?! Maybe so, but there are billions and billions of dollars being spent on advertising that seems to have a slightly lower opinion of our standards... one that seems to believe that they indeed do have the power to tell us exactly what we need to make us... Happy.
I have a motto that I have used for years "embrace imperfection"... it kind of started as joke a long time ago but it has stuck with me and I say it often... it gets me through hard times, it helps me to be more understanding of others and myself, it allows me to be creative without stopping to "correct and perfect" and most importantly... it keeps me human.
Human = Perfectly Imperfect
We human beings are some seriously complex creatures... we have managed to take this simple thing called life and change it and twist it and mangle it into something incredibly insane... all other animals of the world seem to go through the process of life fairly well adjusted (unless of course their lives have been inadvertently altered by some crazy-ass humans.) Life is a heck of a lot simpler and enjoyable than often times we make it... Life is not about presentations as the old adage "life is not a dress rehearsal" defies... Life is for living... now spell it... L-I-V-I-N-G... now say it... "LIVING"... now yell it... LIVING!!!!!!
Yep... You are alive. Now start living... gratefully... joyfully... honestly... it's the only way... forget all of the wants and worries that we carry with us and all of the pressures that we conjure up along the way. This is your one and only life... enjoy it, savor it, absorb it all in... and as time passes and your skin starts to sag, wrinkle and freckle... where those badges proudly. You earned them and they are evidence of a life (that hopefully at the end of your days) was indeed a life worth living...
