If you have not yet watched it, do so now.
The premise: Dove hired a forensic artist to draw blind portraits of women as they describe themselves from behind a curtain. Upon leaving, they meet the next woman who describes them to the artist before describing themselves. The artist draws two portraits for each woman.
Both portraits are then unveiled to the women, who are shown reacting to the profound differences between both: the self-described portraits almost always depict them in the least flattering way, exaggerating the facial features they are most conscious about, sometimes distorting their face and having them look like an entirely different person.
I found this video incredibly painful to watch. Some women just crumbled in the inside when they realized how they envisioned themselves, and came to grips with the impact that it must have had on how they have lived their life.
We are our own worst critics.
Are you present to the absurdity of it? As most of us are self-conscious about how we and some of our physical features show up to others, so is everyone else. Every single one of us is so absorbed in our own body-related concerns that we usually do not apply that same level of harsh critique to other people; when, in fact, looking bad to others is what we fear most in the first place!
As a result, our inner critic dims our light greatly, altering how we show up to others and diminishing our contribution to them and to the world. She turns us outside in, into a place of negative internalization.
Today, we are going to explore other ways to be that don't necessitate being so hard on ourselves. Better yet, we are going to explore how to nurture and cherish every little bit of our bodies. No "if", no "but". They, and we, are beautiful.
1) Become an Any Shape or Form girl and follow Andrea's lead
- Examine your “If Onlys”
- What makes you feel beautiful?
2) Pick a "flaw" to flaunt, and participate in Naomi's BeYOUtiful project
3) Pick a spot on your body and experiment with decals/henna
4) Wear your good underwear today, or no underwear at all...