Defining Beauty

This week, I read a summary of research about self-image.  While I wasn't surprised by most of the information, there were a few things that stood out:

1. Teachers give higher evaluations to and have higher expectations of attractive children. [Interesting when you work in an educational setting!]
2. Standards of beauty are more difficult to attain: The current media ideal can be achieved by less than 5% of the population for just weight/size - if you include shape, face, etc., it's less than 1%.
3. Female dissatisfaction with appearance begins at a very early age. In an American survey, 81% of 10-year-old girls have already been on a diet at least once.  A Swedish survey found that 25% of 7-year-old girls had been on a diet.
4. By age 13, at least half of all girls are significantly unhappy with how they look.  By age 17, 80% do not like what they see in the mirror.
5. If you were teased as a child, your body image will be permanently damage.

I don't even know what to do with this information - other than desire change!  I have been processing the standard of beauty fact for the last few days.  I am not going to disagree that the women used in national campaigns are, for the most part, beautiful and unique.  But I would also use those words to describe the people closest to me.  My mom is one of the most beautiful people I know - and has been for as long as I've known her.  For a majority of that time, she would not have been defined as a mainstream beauty, but that did not stop her beauty from shining on the lives of those who know her.  My best friends would argue that they are not beautiful (and would probably be able to tell you the specifics of why they think they're not), but I have seen the effects of their beauty on all they have been in contact with.  Their beauty literally radiates out of their every pore.  So what makes them so beautiful?  That's easy...

Probably the same thing that makes you beautiful.  These women in my life have fabulous spirits.  They are all uniquely different, and thus - uniquely beautiful.  But gorgeous, they are.  Their smiles are infectious, as is their laughter.  Watching them with children gives me hope for the future...that those kids will know how much they are loved and will go on to spread the love to others.  Listening to them speak gives me more wisdom.  Being around them makes me a better person, and that is beautiful.  

I have come to define beauty in different ways.  There are the things of beauty that I like to look at - and that's it, and that isn't very much.  I have reached the point in my life where I do not have time for things to be one-dimensional, and this kind of beauty falls into that category.  For me, true beauty is not passive:  It motivates, changes, inspires, and loves.  True beauty is also fabulous to look at, but not for the same reason.  I love to watch true beauty in action because its growth is exponential.  (For a math geek, that is exciting!)  

How do you define beauty when it comes to yourself?  I know this is an area where I have struggled.  I was teased as a child for my weight and for how I looked, and I am still trying to break the effects of those words in my life.  I have had trouble looking in a mirror for most of my life.  I have looked at beautiful people and judged myself by those standards.  But my standards for beauty in others are changing...shouldn't I change the standards by which I have been judging myself?  If true beauty is changing, motivating, inspiring...can I be beautiful myself?  Do I need to look in the mirror to see my beauty, or can I look into the faces of those around me as we interact?  Do I make them smile and laugh?  Do our discussions help them to grow as well?  Perhaps the gorgeous people around us are a better reflection of our beauty than just a plain mirror...