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Today is the day to see in yourself what everyone else already sees. You are beautiful. Strong. Giving. Loving. You make the world a better place by simply being in it.

Seeing beautiful is a way of thinking and experiencing the world. If we’re always focused on finding flaws, we’re missing the beautiful. Seeing, seeking, and creating more beautiful in the world creates a ripple effect of empowerment of for all.

As a teacher I repeatedly heard young girls belittle themselves – wishing for a standard of “beauty” roughly defined by pop culture. Unfortunately, pop culture does a good job of giving us bad information. We’re constantly plagued with the idea that we’re supposed to look a certain way, dress a certain way, act a certain way, speak a certain way, and spend our money in a certain way.

The thing is, you’re YOU, not ME. You’re YOU. Not WE. Wishing to be mannequin-skinny, or air-brush flawless, plants an unhealthy seed of wanting, wanting, wanting, instead of a blooming contentment with the beauty carried everyday just the way we are.

Far beyond skin and hair and nails is a heart and mind and soul that have the opportunity to impart the most beautiful change and peace and love in the world. You carry that. That is stunningly beautiful. That is every-second-real. That makes you shine. You are beautiful.

The truth is, every moment of every day we have a choice: we can let others dictate the way we see beautiful in ourselves and the world, or we can see the beauty we inherently possess, do something to help someone else, make a person smile, lend a helping hand, change someone’s world. See Beautiful exists to grow this movement.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Scatter joy.” I say, “Scatter beautiful.” Perhaps they’re one in the same. We scatter so others feel more joyful, more beautiful. The more joy or beauty one feels the more likely they are to scatter it themselves, so paying it forward becomes cyclical.

If the cycle of seeing beautiful spread, there would be so much joy, happiness, giving and good in the world – and this is SO possible, SO easy, to create.

All you have to remember is that you make every day in this world more beautiful because you are in it. You are inherently beautiful and you spread it with every smile and step you take. Thank you for making this world a better, more beautiful place. You’ve helped me see beautiful.

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Lydia Criss Mays, is the President and CEO of See Beautiful, an organization committed to empowering girls and women to see the beauty they inherently posses and empowering all to see and create more beautiful in the world.

A former elementary school teacher, Lydiais also an Assistant Professor at Georgia State University in the Early Childhood Education department. Her research, teaching, community and policy work focus on issues of equity, empowerment, and care.

In addition to Mays' published research articles and book chapter, she is also a children's book author of an award-wining, co-authored book, The Long and The Short of It: A Tale About Hair.

For more information, please visit seebeautiful.com

This Post Has 4 Comments

  1. Your beautiful Lydia, because you gave me beautiful with your inspiration. I see the beautiful in everyone,and everything else.
    Thank you Lydia. Your beautiful. Lots of love

  2. Woke up to this message today, this fine Sunday. These words resonated immensely throughout my body and soul as I read this. This applies not only to young women belittling themselves, but all of humanity that decides to live in fear with certainty. Yet the certainty I feel with these words, is that we have everything we need when we are born. To love oneself is a great achievement and this reminded me of that. Thank you 🦾💙

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