Beautiful

There is nothing wrong with you.

Do you believe it?

It's an interesting idea. We have all been taught that there's something wrong with us. Where does it come from? Parents? Friends? Comparing ourselves to others?

I ran across this in Gavin's link-love. I think it's interesting that I would find it now. I'm reading this book my sister gave me called Uglies. It's a trilogy: Uglies, Pretties, and Specials. It's young adult fiction, futuristic. The main character, Tally, lives in a world where on your 16th birthday, you're made pretty. Everyone. Through an operation, they shave down or beef up your bones, fat, skin, everything, to make you look "pretty" - or, in other words, like everyone else. They teach them in school that this is a good thing: everyone equally pretty, no one stands out, nothing to fight over.

Sounds good, right? But when Tally's friend, Shay, runs away, and Tally goes after her, Tally learns that being pretty isn't always that good. She meets David, and for the first time in her ugly life, she is called beautiful. And she believes it.

What if we could be called beautiful, and believe it when we heard it? Sure, our parents call us beautiful. Boyfriends, friends, husbands, those who love us and know us say, "yeah, you're beautiful." "No, you're not fat." "I like the way your eyes are too far apart." "It's what's on the inside that counts." We hear those words, and know in our minds that they're true, but it's our hearts that don't believe. It's our hearts that need compassion. Maybe if we could each have a little more compassion for our own self, we'd be able to have compassion for others, too.