I think it's obvious that I am quite disappointed in our culture. I suppose when you gather any group of faulty humans together, you're going to get a big mess. Especially if they don't know Christ. Lately my disappointment has been directed at one topic in particular: vanity and self-esteem. You get so many mixed messages in this culture about how you are beautiful just the way you are, but then everything else is directed at changing who you are, or convincing you that you'd be better if only you had more [...] or were more [...]. It's everywhere you look and I'm not just saying the models and movies stars that are in all the magazines. Walk down an aisle in any store and you're bound to find things that would alter your appearance... make you more this or that. The fashion trends that cycle every season is only one example. It's amazing to see how people can really believe that somehow their life will be changed if only they had the latest style. As if wearing that shirt, or those boots will somehow make them more valuable and attractive. I'm really not being over critical....it's so easy to get sucked into this way of thinking when it's all around you. Then of course there are the other aisles in the stores. Makeup that promise to quadruple the length of your pathetic lashes, heighten the definition of your non-existent cheekbones, cover up the multitudes of flaws you so obviously have. Thank God makeup is here to make you a better version of you! Shampoo that promises to de-frizz, add volume, magnify highlights, lo-lights, and any other light, when really, they are all made of the same stuff. Whiten your teeth, rid yourself of cellulite, minimize wrinkles, get rid of those grays... It's disgusting.
I can't watch Hulu without seeing adds every three minutes for Latisse, a serum you apply to grow more longer, darker lashes. What a frivolous desire...they are lashes and add nothing to the well being of your life (especially when you take into account the side effects, all for the sake of a few more little hairs on your eye lids). Then there is Juvederm so you can get rid of your "facial parentheses". THEY ARE SMILE LINES. When you're old and have had a happy life, you should wear those "parentheses" as a medal. I can't help but notice how the spokesperson in the commercial looks as if she can't smile all the way. Botox, plastic surgery-- these things are so unnatural. Have you ever seen someone 50+ without any signs of their age? It's creepy.
Today, Caleb and I had a date day. We went to Columbia and had a tasty lunch/dinner, walked around downtown and saw a movie. There didn't seem to be too much playing so we saw the movie Surrogates. In this movie the majority of the worlds population lives their lives through their surrogate robots. They plug themselves in and experience life from the safety of their own homes. Their surrogates are the "best versions" of themselves. They are beautiful, sexy, flawless..... Of course, the hot blonde walking down the street is being run by a fat guy that hasn't showered in two months. Okay, spoiler, although entirely predictable.... in the end surrogacy is over and you see people stepping out of their houses and apartment in their real bodies, flaws and all. It's relieving to see humans and not robots, to see them in their robes and bed-head and scruffy unshaved faces... to see their big noses, wrinkles, and oddly proportioned bodies, because there is nothing odd about it. God made us different, and beautiful and in his image.
When we start chasing after something we don't have, thinking that something is going to complete us, we'll only be left unsatisfied. Looks and possessions are superficial and temporary and we are fools when we place them higher than they are. We are fools if we think we will be satisfied by anything aside from God and the truth that he loves us, sent his Son to die for us and that we are "fearfully and wonderfully made." God has made everything and to insult that, to desire these empty changes and modifications, is to insult the Creator.
All this having been said, I will confess I'm no stranger to these weaknesses. Looking in the mirror, I find myself occasionally dissatisfied. This is a mindset that I have been working on changing, and it's a matter of mastering every thought--not always the easiest task. But I am happy with who God has made me, inside and out, and I try to always remember that. I'm annoyed when a take some of the silly quizzes on Facebook, like What Famous Starlet are you?, or What is your hidden talent?, and they ask a question like what color your hair is and your options are something along the lines of sexy blonde, mysterious black, fiery red and just brown. I have straight brown hair...and I love it. I tried dying it once and I immediately dyed it back the next day. I love my brown hair, my big nose, my flat chest. This is how God made me. Just Kelly, and that is wonderful to Him. It's my prayer that others see the beauty that God has given them and not be jealous of others or think lowly of themselves, despite what the world may be telling them. After all, what is the world, but a bunch of other humans made by God, just like you.
"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well." -- Psalm 139:13-14
i HATE those commercials on hulu. i have thought the exact same thing about them. i think you are beautiful inside and out :) also, why single out brown to be "just brown"? as if brown isn't as good as other hair colors. weird. in the past few years i have learned to be happy with my physical self, and since being with ben i often feel beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI think it's funny how the media creates problems u didn't even know u had...and then tries to market and sell you their solution . It's like they sell low self esteem and then try to sell your image back to you only on their terms. So stupid!
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