Beauty

Yay its story time–little Shreya chuckled, lying cozily in her mother’s lap. “Today I want to hear story of snow white”.

Mumma smiled and started the story “There was this pretty girl who was fair as snow, soft as cotton and the prettiest girl in the world"… and the story went on…

Next day started as usual with Shreya's laughter echoing in the morning but things changed when she returned from school.

“I was again not selected for the drama.” She said dully removing her shoes. “Hmmm but then the princesses need to be fair and pretty which I am not so I guess mam did the right thing.” and she went to wash her hands.

Mumma stopped short in her work. Shreya’s words echoed in her mind for a long time. She wondered who planted these measures for beauty in these innocent minds. Aren’t we all responsible? These measures are so deeply rooted in our minds that knowingly or unknowingly we all become ambassadors of false notions of beauty. Tall, fair, slim -are these the notions of beauty? Really? The models showcased in the flimsy cover pages looking no less than the snow white aren’t flawless themselves. The dab of makeup and the photoshopped images must scare them to come to limelight with their natural beauty. Why are we chasing illusions? She decided she won’t let her daughter chase an illusion and will clear the clutter from her innocent mind.

Today she was waiting more than Shreya for the story time. And as the night crawled in, she was ready with a new story.

“So today I will tell you a different story” she said, cuddling Shreya closer in her arms.

Wow… Shreya chuckled

“This is a story of a girl”

“Who was fair as snow” Shreya said before her mother could complete the sentence.

Mumma smiled and shook her head.

“No, she was dusky and chubby."

“Oh, so she wasn’t pretty like snow white.” Shreya was disheartened.

“I didn’t say that. She was dusky and chubby, and pretty in her own way….” And the story went on.

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Beauty has no parameters. It can be...

    

With all its extremes isn’t mother nature beautiful. It nurtures all extremes will equal love and care and even we appreciate nature in all its form, then why this bias for our own tribe? Why we try to confine beauty in restricted standards. May be because the false parameters are so deeply rooted in our mind that it has become a part of our belief system. It's time to shed them. Beauty is immeasurable and undefinable. Let's celebrate the vividness of our existence and appreciate beauty in all its forms.

5 Benefits of Getting Older

Looking at an old photo makes you sad? The slight wrinkles burying the youthful skin wasn’t a friend then. The glint in those dark eyes isn’t a friend now. Time does that to us. But getting old isn’t that bad. It comes down with its own happiness package.

Starting from middle age this package starts becoming lucrative with each passing year. I have listed down just a few of the endless benefits that comes down with getting older.

1)            Expectations are tamed down

I think as we age we make peace with reality. Youth is loaded with energy, dreams, ambitions. But a crushing weight of unrealistic expectations stresses it out. Expectations, from everyone and everything. And as the famous saying goes “expectations reduce joy”. It really does. And as the expectations are crushed brutally under realism we are forced to shed the layers of expectation with passing time. Though some expectations still hold us tight but they are much more realistic. 

2)            Realizing what really matters

I wanted a lot of things from life. The most important was to secure 100% in every relationship. I wanted everyone to be happy with me. And that made me most unhappy. The point is not that it was impossible, the point is that it wasn’t important. As time passed, I realized what really matters in life. And it is a huge relief.

3)            Getting comfortable in our own skin

I believe change is toughest to accept at the onset, and as the journey progress it becomes acceptable. I have never seen my mother fretting over getting old. She has other issues to deal with, like dreams of her children, her grandchildren’s health and other things, but the wrinkles on her face or the age spots no more bothers her. I am yet to meet an elderly person who is worried about being fat, short, dark or lacking a grand personality. Isn’t it great? Free from the burden of looking great all the time. Well this is something that comes late in life. I have yet to travel long to reach there.

4)            Little issues don’t bother anymore

Sometimes when I look back I am surprised at the things that fretted me out. They were numerous. I used to frown at things I now just laugh at because life threw bigger challenges. But then I realized time breaks us and then it only mends us. This too shall pass – this is the first thought to pass my mind when I am upset.

5)            Finally, some me-time

Everyone is talking about having me time. How does one get it with little toddler demanding all your time and energy? But by the time we reach middle age kids have passed the toddler stage. Though the responsibilities and tensions don’t end here but at least the nappy changing times and a kid-totally-dependent-on-me stage have passed. And finally, the me-time starts sounding real. What a relief!

These are just a few of the endless benefits of getting older. I would love to hear a few more from you. Till then cheers for every passing day making us wiser (Another Famous saying says – Age doesn’t bring wisdom always. Sometimes age comes alone.” I am in no mood to prove it true 😊)

5 ways to enhance your beauty

Photo credit - Animesh Nautiyal

Looking beautiful is every woman’s dream or I can say every person’s dream. But if you think I will discuss makeup tips here you have arrived at the wrong place. What I will share are ways to look beautiful – inside and outside.

     1)    Put on your Smile:

We always smile while portraying for a photo. Why? Because we look beautiful when we smile but why confine our smile to that one moment. Lets smile and spread smiles. Agreed, red, pink or purple shade might adorn your lips, but not as much as your beautiful smile does. You don’t even need to worry if it’s smudged or gone. And it doesn’t even harm your pocket ;).

      2)   Wear your confidence:

It doesn’t really matters which brand clothes, shoes or jewellery your wear, whether it cost 500 or 5000, whether it’s western or traditional. What is important is how comfortable you are with your choices. Confident people radiate energy that is infectious.

3) Shed self criticism:

It is more important than shedding those extra calories you worry about. If there are people who criticize you for being overweight, remember they will be the first one to advise you to eat healthy if you lose weight. Too tall, too short, too thin, too fat…there are plenty of people out there to criticize you, don’t add yourself in that unwanted crowd. I am sure you would like to look real and real people have flaws. Be the person who has maturity to appreciate and see beauty everywhere. And start with seeing that beauty in yourself.

      4) Appreciate your age:

Getting older? Congrats. Everyone does. My 5 year old is going to get old and so is my new born going to. Those thin lines starting to peep from your forehead, does that bother you? Well it shouldn’t. They are just a witness of the path you have travelled, the hardships you have survived and the wisdom you have gained in those struggles. Age brings grace, but only to those who don’t fear it.

     5)  Don’t worry too much about looking beautiful:

Sounds odd? Specially in this post... But believe me no one is going to observe the slightly darker shade on your forehead or the slight crow feet appearing around your eyes except you and except people who are born to criticize.  So stop worrying about small things. Worry takes away that special glow from you face that makes you beautiful.

Beauty is not about flawless skin or perfect figure, beauty is how you feel about yourself. If you think you are beautiful you are, if you think you are not, still you are, because you are a creation of god and no creation of god can be flawed.  So admire yourself and have a beautiful day ahead.

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