Who Is Beautiful?

Who do you think is beautiful ?

Are they the skinny models who walk the ramp or who feature in advertisements?
Is it the winner of the beauty pageants ?

I read a beautiful quote by Osho the other day, ” Accept yourself the way you are. And that is the most difficult thing in the world, because it goes against your training, your education and your culture. From the very beginning, you have been told how you should be; Nobody has ever told you that you are as good as you are. ”

Stop body shaming!

I have been body shamed all my life. When it was not my family, it was my school mates, neighbours and the so called more beautiful.

I do have broad hips, so even if I starve myself, I can never be that petite frame. Yet, it took me decades to accept this simple truth. To fit into the societal standards, I have gone on crash diets all through my teenage. Over the years, food became my solace too and I have put my body through repeated cycles of overeating and then fasting.

Every child more particularly girls tend to put on weight at menarche, at child birth and at menopause. We all know it is hormonal. Yet, the very attitude of society pulls so many into doing unimaginable diets.
Did you identify with this? I know many will.

How many people keep hiding from their own persona due to the labels the society gives, “Fat, thin, Black, milky-white.” Beauty comes in all shapes and sizes. Yet, why do we make it so difficult to accept. It absolutely irks me when my facebook / instagram ads show me weight loss apps. Over the last few years, the world has become obsessed with weight loss/ looks. Was it always like that and I never paid any heed. You don’t need to lose weight to look beautiful. You are beautiful the way you are. Yes, and I want everyone reading this to look into the mirror and say to self confidently till it becomes ingrained in you. “I am beautiful.”

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Intermittent fasting, keto, GM diet, Military diet …there are so many of them lurking in those sponsored ads. I too have been at times lured, but my rational mind and my medical background has always helped me talk out of it.

You need to lose weight for medical reasons yes, but that does not require every tom dick and harry right to market it. There are certified nutritionists to help if you really need to. If you are at a high risk may be due to your uncontrolled sugars, a strong family history of heart diseases, hypertension or your weight is a hindrance to your mobility or is harming your knees etc. you need to follow what your nutritionist advises you and not some crappy website. Everyone needs to be fit and active, and it is not a book rule that only thin are fit and active. You need to get fit and active because sedentary life style puts you at risk of many diseases. Don’t mix these two up. You need to eat right for the same reason, but not ever because you are not beautiful.

Who is beautiful ? Each and every one of us is beautiful. Beauty is skin deep. Beauty lies within you. Beauty is in your heart and your soul. Let’s embrace that beauty within us.

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