Pretty is not the Rent You Pay to Exist in this World as a Woman

in #writing8 years ago (edited)


I’ve been trying to live by different standards of beauty for a while now, but the way Glennon Doyle Melton describes this new definition of beautiful in her book Love Warrior finally put words to what I’ve been aiming toward for years.
In talking to her daughters about what it means to be beautiful:
“You two will meet plenty of people who are pretty but haven’t yet learned to be beautiful. They will have the right look for the times, but they will not glow. Beautiful women glow. When you are with a beautiful woman, you might not notice her hair or skin, her body or clothes, because you’ll be distracted by the way she makes you feel. She will be so full of beauty that you will feel some it overflow onto you. You’ll feel warm and safe and curious around her. Her eyes will twinkle a little and she’ll look at you really closely- because beautiful, wise women know that the quickest way to fill up with beauty is to soak in another human being. Other people are beauty, beauty, beauty. The most beautiful people take their time with other people. They are filling up. Women who are concerned with being pretty think about what they look like, but women who are concerned with being beautiful think about what they are looking at. They are taking it all in. They are taking in the whole beautiful world and making all that beauty theirs to give away to others. Does that make sense?”
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And as a man I say it's not a bad idea for men to make any woman (regardless of how they perceive beauty) ... feel beautiful. Look them in the eyes. Giving respect and verbal honor are huge especially to women who doesn't feel beautiful!

Yes! It's a beautiful thing when a man values you for who you are on the inside and knows how to appreciate your special kind of beauty :)

Totes. Beauty comes from character, and the older you get the easier it is to see beauty and the less swayed we are by pretty.

YES! And I love how you said "totes" too :) I say that all the time!

Great thoughts! Positive energy is stronger than anything, and if we behave in that way towards others while feeling good about ourselves, we will be great and beautiful in someone`s else eyes :) Thanks for sharing.

Yes! Thank YOU for sharing your thoughts :) Cheers love!

You`re very welcome. I am glad we share these thoughts :)

Yes! Positive energy is everything :) thank you for sharing!

thank you for reading!

I love this :) There's nothing like being around a person who is all beauty on the inside. You just want to be around them all the time!

True that! It's the best feeling in the world :)

Outstanding post and full of great wisdom. I enjoyed reading very much @auroralyrayoga! It hits home and yes it makes a lot of beautiful sense. ;)

Thank you for these kind words and for taking the time to read it! Lots of gratitude :)

Bad beauty norms shared by the social media , actually F'd some people life how sad ! Love yourself to be loved ;)

Yes! It's crazy how much the media can influence our internal dialogue without realizing it

It does make sense to me.
Feeling beautiful is your focus thus power
Concerned with being pretty is giving focus to the perception of others. There is no power in that.
Have a great day!
:-)

Love the way you worded that :"Concerned with being pretty is giving focus to the perception of others. There is no power in that." Thank you for sharing!

I really enjoyed reading this. Some wise words that we could all learn from. Thanks for sharing!

Great post!
I will follow you!
Steem on!