Plastic Surgery: To Cut or Not To Cut

Beauty is from within a place we must uncover.  However, all the stuffing and injecting in the world won't help us find a permanently satisfactory form.

I know I have threatened tummy tucks and botox, but it is really tongue in cheek.  Sure, the idea of perfection is tempting.  Who am I kidding?  I'd feel like a complete jerk if I ended up being the 1 out of 100,000 who became paralyzed.  Or even worse, what if I died?!  Who's to say I won't get "plastic fever" and can't stop until I look...melted?? What dear? No, college is out of the question.  Remember Mommy's "refreshments?"!  What if my family had to suffer because of my vanity?  My guilt from this hypothetical scenario is already over the top.  Sure, I like me. But I don't love me more than them.  And if I'm to lead by example, well, I guess I know what I must (and mustn't) do.

It's fruitless and ungrateful to strive to fulfill someone else's ideas of perfection.  We will never win that game.  My tummy is not what it was before kids, but I am learning to be okay with that.   There's history in my laugh lines and there's pride in my stretch marks.  That fact may even make you cringe.  I understand.  It's difficult for us to feel good about our bodies.  From day one, we are trained to think we need more, as if to say, "No, no.  You don't want to be you.  You want to be better."  But they are lying to us because we are good.  We are awesome.  Until we realize that, we are at the mercy of someone else's agenda.  And that never seems to go well in the long run.

I wish there was a way to click into the right mind frame as soon as we wake-up every morning so we are not led astray.  It would be so helpful to have the ability to refill the self-esteem tank when we found ourselves lower than optimal.  

Oh yeah, right, there is a way to do that: 

-Give it to God. Ask Him for Peace. Prayer is Powerful. 

-Gather your family and friends. It takes a village, but sometimes all we need is a hug and a good laugh.

-Eat well.  Food is a source of energy.  Choose wisely.

-Believe in yourself and Realize you're valuable.

-"Put a Little Lipstick on." -Mom

Trust me, I have to force myself to take my own advice.  It's a process. Beauty is fluid and it transforms into something new as we change our thoughts and our hearts.  Why do I feel continually sideswiped into falsely thinking that a new pair of  boobs, a flat tummy, and an expressionless face will better me?  I struggle with these lies.  For those of you who have made the choice to do so, I say, more power to you.  But before we decide to painfully alter ourselves, we need to consider who we are really doing it for.  

xBRB

"It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength." - Maya Angelou