Something that has always bothered me about entering into the beauty industry is the emphasis on anti-aging. As if that is all that matters! Actually, the emphasis on anti-aging makes me feel sad, as if you can minimize me and all the women out there into this little category of ‘worth something if she’s young and beautiful’. We are worth infinities of gold, no matter what we look like!
I have always strived to bring so much more to the world of beauty. What if being in the beauty industry could be a both/and? Both beautiful and meaningful? Not because we are trying to prove anything to anyone by looking young, but because we say we care enough about ourselves to take care of the incredible package that we live in each day.
Personally, I want to be active, healthy, and look and feel vibrant well into my old age. What about you? If it really comes down to it, what is it that makes your life wonderful?
I have seen too many people who decide they are old when there is no reason to make that decision. They stop living their lives, stop moving their body or using their minds, or contributing to life on the planet in a way that is meaningful to them. Who wants to just burn up time and complain or feel bad the whole time?
Not me.
So what then is the both/and?
It is self-compassion and non-judgment. When looking in the mirror it is saying thank you to my body and loving all that it does for me every single day. Yes, many days parts of me hurt. But many of the parts don’t hurt. So I try to focus on those, and gently caring for the parts that hurt while utilizing the parts that don’t. Sweetening the deal is both revelatory and healing.
Another both/and is wanting to nurture my skin and especially my face since this is the part that most registers the world. My skin, eyes, ears, nose, mouth, scalp etc are the pieces of me that bring in the ways I experience life. By nurturing this area I am honouring the processes which are performed each day and this resources me so I have the stamina to care for others.
I try to listen to my own vocabulary, too. Am I speaking all too often of being old? Of looking old? Or whining about the wretchedness of being in my fifties? What do I need to change or get a better perspective on in order to be more loving towards myself? I try to remember how I want to live and feel.
Why does this matter? If I can live my life from this perspective, it is translated to my dear clients. Maybe then they can extend kindness, compassion and love to themselves. When we are loved, and treated with kindness and care- we are naturally able to pay this forward. This is what changes the world.
And I am all about changing the world. One little caring, loving moment at a time.
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