How do you look at the world? A situation? Or, a picture of yourself?
When I look at this picture I automatically start scrutinizing myself. My roots need to be touched up. My grey is showing. My blonde needs to be higher. My curl is inconsistent. My nose looks big. And, why in the world did I take a picture in front of a dumpster? On and on, I go.
It all seems so superficial. Why can’t I simply look at this salon selfie and think about all of things done well. That girl. She woke up tired. Yet, she knew she had a day to take on. She knew her son’s alarm would go off a million times before she would have to wake him herself. She knew her three daughter’s would surely fight a time or two before they even made their way downstairs for breakfast. She somehow would hold it together, in spite of the chaos, and carry on.
At the end of the day she knows the day is perfectly imperfect. Each of those days equating to a life. And, not just any life. One to be proud of and thankful for throughout each and every scattered moment.
Those roots can be touched up. Her curly hair actually looks pretty amazing. And, imagine how much better it will look once she actually washes it! She will remember to avoid that big old dumpster in the future. As for the nose, well, it is indeed meant to stick out.
Once you take that step back, you realize it was either a fixable problem or it wasn’t even a problem at all. It just wasn’t perfect through your own personal lens; which is commonly fixed at a selective focus of self-criticism.
We place such an unreasonable amount of pressure on ourselves to keep it ALL together. To manage it ALL. To have it ALL. More often, we need to be able to take pride in what we have done already and appreciate what we have right now. Take that moment to acknowledge and be thankful for ALL you have in the here and now.
That girl. She threw some sunglasses on and changed her focus. She is perfectly imperfect. Fabulously flawed. Some days even beautifully broken. Yet, she is owning it. Embracing it. Grateful for all opportunities and choosing to be proud of ALL of it.