beautiful you

Yesterday I was riding in the car and Sara Bareilles' song, Beautiful Girl, came on. I had never listened to that track before (I am one of those people, I skip to the songs I know I love, often missing some gems in the process) and the lyrics instantly caught my attention. After letting it play through three more times, I knew I had to share it with you all. The song itself deals with the definition of beauty, and the battle we have to find where we fit into it. 

Going off of Sara's lyrics, my thoughts not only went to physical attributes that define beauty but the fact that we as a society put a definition on so many things... success, talent, love, beauty, etc. and because of these definitions the majority of us struggle to feel good enough. To feel beautiful enough, talented enough...

So often, we compare ourselves to one another. I've not met a person that hasn't experienced this in their life. We love our friends and family, but I think we also battle the "why" questions. Questions such as, 

"why does their life seem so amazing, and mine so boring?" 

"why is it we eat the same thing, but they never gain a pound?" 

"why does everyone notice them, but I seem to be overlooked?"

"Why them and not me?"

We don't ask these questions because we hate the fact that our friends and family have all these good things. We ask them, because we want to know why we don't see those attributes in our own lives. The beauty about Sara's song is that she recognizes the hurt that can come from the comparison. She highlights that if not addressed it can cause insecurity, bitterness and a lack of self worth. But, in the midst of this she also challenges us to stop comparing. Stop comparing our looks, our relationships, our lives... just stop comparing. She encourages us to take a better look, because there is beauty there. We just have to strip off the blinders and see it. 

My favorite lyric is when she sings... 

"but take it from me, that you have to see it first."

Life isn't fair, I don't think it is meant to be. If we all had everything we ever wanted, our lives would be boring and I think we would lose the preciousness of being individuals. It's the challenges in life that shape our character. It's the journey of discovering ourselves, of defining our self worth, not in what others say or how we compare to others. But rather, finding our worth in our own hearts, in our strengths and passions. That's when we'll see the beauty in the mirror. When we discover the beauty... it won't matter if others see it. That being said, a crazy thing happens when we find the beauty in ourselves and in our lives... when we walk in confidence and joy, we look more beautiful to others. Nothing might actually change about our appearance or situation, but the worth that we've found in ourselves... that self worth is the most attractive quality anyone can have. 

You are beautiful and there is beauty to be found in your life. I hope you take the time to discover it.

If you've got a moment take a listen to Sara's song.... Beautiful Girl

I hope it encourages you.