"I give myself very good advice, but very seldom follow it."
-Alice, Alice in Wonderland
I really love this picture. The little princess is all dolled up, but she won't look in the mirror. And look how mad the little prince is! He knows she's beautiful, and seems frustrated that she can't see it herself..
It's funny once I start thinking about it, but self-consciousness can take on a warped take on vanity in a way. If any of my girl friends are down on themselves about their appearance or themselves as a whole, I jump all over them with empowering speeches about beauty and how deceiving self-talk can be. I truly feel all my friends are absolutely stunning and breathtaking in countless ways. Every person has such an amazing range of qualities and features, it would be foolish to not appreciate it. The only thing all of the people I know have in common is that they are each fantastically crafted to be completely unique. It's terrible how often I allow myself to become numb and fail to notice the wonderful quirks and differences each person has. I could spend my entire life with each of them and never fully know a single person because there is SO much to know about one person.
And yet I fall into the pattern of damaging thoughts. "I'm nothing special, I'm not beautiful, I'm not unique." What on earth?! How can I honestly appreciate all the wonderful traits of everyone that I interact with if I can't even admit that I also do not have specific qualities I possess as well? What makes me the exception? Everyone is great except me? Not saying I need to put myself on a pedestal, but really, I can't expect people to learn to love themselves if I use myself as an example. That would be a major "do as I say, not what I do" which is irritating in itself.
I am a firm and passionate believer that comparison is not always the best route to take. Each person is such an individual that it seems so unfair to compare them to one another in any field, whether it be academics, looks, personalities, strengths, weakness, talents, etc. If I was able to really study each person and view them as a masterpiece, and appreciate every piece of them, both flaws and features, I would love it. Who cares what the standards are?
Appreciate who you are, where you are and who you are with!
To set this in motion, I will try to take my advice that I give out and begin to apply it to myself. I hope that by obtaining a stronger (and humble!) self-love will only increase the love I have for others.
