You Are More Beautiful Than You Think - A Special Mother's Day Message

This a special Mother's Day post for every mother, daughter, and sister out there... I want to tell you: - You are more beautiful than you think - You are more beautiful than you know - But you should know it...and it is a tragedy that you don't!

As a photographer I have learned to see people everywhere I look - especially in the faces of those whom I have had the privilege to photograph.  Those people who are so loved and cherished exactly as they are by those closest to them.  But I have seen bride after bride, and woman after woman, quickly flip through wonderful pictures that display the unique beauty that God himself gave to them, and that those closest to them behold with their own eyes.  Not only do they not see that same beautiful that everyone else sees, they see quite the opposite - they see every "imperfection" and "flaw" they think that they have (and often that is not actually there).  And it makes me terribly, terribly sad...

It happens so often that I have come up with a name for it:

I call it "The One Thing..."

They flip through the pictures quickly, not taking time to admire the beauty within, but rather looking solely for "the one thing..."

"The one thing" that they think is their greatest flaw... "The one thing" that no one else in the world has ever noticed (but they assume is the first thing others see)... "The one thing" that doesn't matter - at all!

It might be a double chin, a fold of skin under their arm, a mole, a birthmark, or any number of things that are imperceivable to the average human eye...  But it's all they see, and they miss everything else.

I recently ran across a video that has forced me to rethink my theory - but unfortunately not in the way I had hoped.  I think it might be closer to the truth in reverse: there might be only "one thing" that many woman actually see correctly about themselves.

Below I have posted the video.  It was put out by Dove as a part of their "Real Beauty Campaign".  It is 6 minutes long - but I think it might be the best 6 minutes many woman can spend today.  So take a few minutes, be honest with yourself, and open up your heart and mind to accepting the beauty (inside and out) that you already possess.

To learn more, go to: realbeautysketches.dove.us

I found this video originally on this blog post on fathers.com talking about how to encourage your daughter and her self image.