Beauty & the Beast of Time: Growing Older Gracefully

What is it about beauty that drives women to such extremes, we poke, pluck, and practically torture ourselves--all to outwit the inevitable beastly bandit-- time. We are intelligent women, no doubt with a realistic outlook when planning our lives, raising our children and climbing that corporate ladder but when we look in the mirror, panic sets in causing us to doubt our own value and sense of self-worth. Growing older, I am slowly changing the way I look at beauty, idealizing not just the youthful crease-free smile of this year's beauty queen but the grace and wisdom found beneath a reflection in the mirror. Concentrate on the timeless spirit of what is beautiful: knowledge, compassion, health and joy-- transforming the beast of time into the gift of living gracefully.

We all have things about ourselves that we don't particularly like, however I find it compelling that some women seem confident and radiant, even though they may not fit our classic ideal of "beauty". That said, on the flip side, there are women obsessed with how they look, never satisfied, with a hunger for more, better, bigger, smaller, etc. I wonder why some have a built in self-esteem radar that allows them to live a full life with a healthy perspective of beauty and would never allow a lack of make up to alter their plans.

I imagine, like most things, a combination of our genes mixed thoroughly with our environment create the person we are today, fortunately we as humans are constantly changing and growing. Learning to celebrate and accentuate our own assets takes courage since we must reveal what lies beneath the concealer and mascara, defects and all. Otherwise our own unique, timeless beauty may never shine through. As the hands on the clock move forward, growing older is inevitable but the choice to live it with purpose one beautiful option.