RE-Envisioning Beauty

​​ "When you understand who and what you are, your radiance projects into the universal radiance and everything around you becomes creative and full of opportunity.” ~Yogi Bhajan

What is beauty? Re-envisioning beauty for me was having the courage to embrace the reality around me and change it into my voice and vision rather than what society tell us daily. 
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As much as society feels they can define beauty for every human being, the reality is the only person who can define your beauty is you. Beauty comes in all shapes, sizes, colors, souls, hearts and bodies. No one can define you, but you. As I came to this definition and realization of how to re-envision beauty, my life stories began to come alive in a whole new way. 
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The difference was what I was able to pinpoint prior; when I spoke of beauty it would always be in terms for myself, but in actuality beauty is so much bigger than ever attaching it to one person. There needs to be a moment of deafening silence where you have to go deep within yourself and ask the question. It is only then can you go deeper to ask the harder questions sitting back to truly listen in honesty at the answers that will follow you along the journey. They may not be easy at first to hear. But if you stick with the process of healing the wounds that got you to the negative body shame, I promise a peaceful acceptance will follow. You define your own beauty today, tomorrow and forever.
 
When I began to re-envision beauty. I opened the door to compassion for myself and left self-criticism at the door knowing it had no business on my journey anymore. I needed to cultivate a self-love taking body hatred out of my vocabulary. I needed to speak words of love towards the body I live within and leave hate at the door. It became about letting go of forgotten pasts, embracing love for myself, then sharing it with all who cross my path. For in the end the gift of defining beauty is being able to share the truth with others to pass on to the next person. When I was able to take this step, I could see the beauty in every person who crossed my path. I could appreciate their beauty for what it was and not compare or contrast in what I was missing in my life
 
Today beauty resides in every moment of my day. I consciously see it in all things, I live it within myself. I am proud of my body scars for they tell the story of my life. Scars that show the beautiful birth of my children, scars that show the wounds which took me years to heal in order to help others. Every scar, wrinkle, grey hair tells my story, I simply embrace beauty in all things…and for that I am grateful.
 
Where does Beauty reside for you?  How do you define Beauty?  If you could Re-Envision Beauty for your journey, what would it look like?