I recently came across an incredibly powerful video that felt worth a share. The message is simple, and yet it’s one that many of us likely need to hear every once in a while. If anything, it’s a good reminder of what we should each be telling ourselves on a regular basis. Take a look!
All too often, we measure our own self-worth on rubrics society has set — or even worse, on ideals we’ve been led to believe are real but only exist in pictures or on screen. We learn to compare ourselves to manufactured icons and air-brushed examples of beauty, raising the bar to a place fully divorced from reality. The results, especially in young and impressionable individuals, can be devastating.
Self-esteem can be complicated enough without influencers telling us how inadequate we are. But we don’t see these people’s actual lives beyond the lights, cameras, and makeup. We don’t see into their souls or get a glimpse into the kinds of people they really are. We have no idea how mundane or sad or lonely their lives might actually be. Anyone can smile for a camera; that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re happy.
When we remember to look beyond the silly expectations we impose on ourselves, instead taking the time to dig deep and assess what really matters, true self-worth has a chance to surface. How many beautiful people have you known who haven’t fit your society’s definition of beauty? Is it perhaps their soul shining through that makes all the difference?
In the video above, one might argue that Kate Winslet is even more stunning by the end of the clip, when she’s removed all her layers of makeup, because the exceptional beauty within her is such a powerful force. We each have that luster, even if it might sometimes be hidden under the many layers of dulling plastic society has spent so many years wrapping all around all of us. Each of us is in our physical prime for a blink of an eye. Everything else — how we treat others and respond in the face of both prosperity and adversity — is truly what defines us.
You are worth it, even if you still have a way to go. No one is perfect, but we can each strive to be the very best human beings we possibly can be. It all starts by looking within.
Paper Shadows 