We are constantly bombarded with images and messages telling us what beauty should be, but what really is beauty? Here are 25 ways to be more beautiful right now.

Growing up, I never thought I was beautiful (or talented, smart, useful, but those are other stories). My mother—now, she was beautiful. At least, according to my dad. 

Maybe it was because I read a lot of fairy tales filled with competing princesses and queens but I grew up believing there was only room in my house for one beautiful woman. And that crown was claimed by my mother.

I wanted to be beautiful. No one called me beautiful. If they did, I didn’t believe it. I already knew it wasn’t true.

Looking back, I see that what I really wanted was love. Love for myself, not for being a mini copy of my mother. But I couldn’t see that back then. 

I still want to be beautiful. There are so many ways we are beautiful. Now I know that beauty starts on the inside.

What is beauty, anyway?

If you do a Google image search with the keyword “beauty” you’ll see pages and pages of beautiful women’s faces. White women’s faces. This bothers me on many levels.

For one thing, it’s reductive. For another, it completely erases the beauty of non-white women. And for another, why is beauty only about women?

I see beauty in so many ways.

“Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.”  —Mother Teresa

Be beautiful today

1. Smile. A genuine smile from the heart lights up the world around you. (But not if a man comands you to smile, ugh. Feel free to disregard those.)

2. Be yourself. The more true and real you are, the more people will like you and the more beautiful you will seem.

3. Listen. Few of us feel listened to enough.

4. Let your shadow (dark parts of your inner self) see light.

“I thought the most beautiful thing in the world must be shadow.” –Sylvia Plath.

5. Say something nice. But only if you mean it.

6. Live your true life. People who live their lives fully are more attractive.

7. Do what makes you feel alive. Rollercoasters? Poetry slams? Kickboxing? Doing what makes you feel alive will ignite your passion.

8. Random act of kindness. Pay for the person behind you in line for coffee, or the car wash. Then try not to feel small chuckles well up inside you for the rest of the day, knowing you made a small difference in someone’s day.

9. Laugh. Often, loudly, and with others.

10.  Sex makes you beautiful. That relaxed, glowing look you try to achieve with makeup is yours with a quick romp in the hay, a leisurely Sunday afternoon, or a morning pick-me-up.

11. Hug. From the heart. Relax your belly. Feel the other person. Give yourself to it.

12. Send words of appreciation. Did someone positively affect in your life this week? Tell them.

13. Cry. Show your heart. Show your vulnerability. Let it out.

14. Create! Express! Write a blog post. Draw a picture. Make a sidewalk chalk family.

15. Treat other people the way they want to be treated. Go Platinum—it’s a step up from the Golden Rule.

16. Do the one thing you’ve always wanted to but never let yourself do. When you find it, THAT is the thing that will make you come alive and be beautiful.

17. Do something naughty. Ice cream cones for dinner? Play hooky? Sexy lingerie? Let the kids make their own lunch? A little naughty goes a long way.

18. Speaking of sexy lingerie…. no one has to know you’re wearing it but you. And you WILL know. And you’ll be smiling a secret sexy smile all day because of it.

19. Find one thing about your appearance that you love. Hair? Eyes? Lips? Throat? Whatever it is, play it up.

20. Make a friend. Smile at and talk to someone you’ve never met before today.

True beauty comes from within.

21. Plot world domination. Or your small part in creating a better world. What way do you want the world to change? Do it.

22. Look for beauty. It’s everywhere around you. Can you see it? Spend 10 minutes noticing what is beautiful.

23. Open your mind and heart.  Is there someone you feel conflict with? We are mirrors for one another — if someone else makes you feel uncomfortable, look for that thing in yourself and try to love it. Notice how your feelings about that person change.

24. Be excited! Passionate, involved, enthusiastic people attract us. Be one.

25. Love yourself. Give yourself a pat on the back right now. You deserve it. You deserve love.

My husband calls me beautiful every day. And I believe him. I feel beautiful. Some days more than others, but because I am learning how to live more fully and love more deeply, being beautiful is just…there.

How will you be beautiful today?

Love, Talyaa

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