Natural Beauty

I never write a blog post with my own personal opinions mainly b/c this is a "family" blog with the purpose being to give a glimpse into our world (which mostly involves raising Natalie, of course). We have some family and friends far away who don't get to see Natalie very often (if ever) so this is a way to keep them connected. (I believe I've probably mentioned this once before on here.)

But, today, for whatever bizarre reasons, I feel compelled to write an "editorial" if you will. Please don't judge my grammar or punctuation, it is horrible, I know. Maybe I'm inspired by those people who do use their blogs to express thoughts and feelings and by sharing those things, it helps others to learn & grow. Who knows....but here goes.

I really struggle with how I will teach Natalie to value natural beauty (both in herself and others and also in the world). As I was uploading pictures from our recent trip to Mexico, I found myself SOOO tempted to edit all the photos (and I don't just mean cropping out the random strangers in the background). I mean, I wanted to adjust the tint, color saturation, etc. until the photos looked perfect! I wanted the water to be just oh-so blue and then it hit me! Why? Why do I want to change it? I should value the beauty of that water and that sky and that scenery just the way it is (and the way the image was burned in my mind). Sure, it was fairly overcast and cloudy most of the days we were there, but so what? The water and coast and tropical vegetation is beautiful with or without clouds! I want the photos to represent my memories of our trip and if I edit them then it just becomes some illusion.

I feel this same "illusion" is taken to an extreme these days in our culture. Everywhere I turn, the photos I see are edited. From magazines to family blogs and everything in between. Why can't we all be happy with natural beauty? Why can't we accept things for how they are....why do we so desperately want to create a false sense of "beauty" in our society? What does this mean? What does this say about us?Our future? The hardest part for me is the pressures women have on them to be an illusion of beauty....from make-up, to dyed hair, to breast enhancements, botox, lipo, tummy tucks, and perfect skin...the list goes on & on. When is it enough?

I hope and pray that we can find a way to teach Natalie to appreciate natural beauty in all its forms and that she can also realize that most of what is revered in today's culture is truly just an illusion.

p.s.- Unedited pics of the Mexico trip coming soon! :)