You are beautiful.

My argument for the truth of this statement presupposes a couple of pretty big things. First: there exists a being infinitely greater than you and I. Second: you were created by said Being.

I have no idea where you stand on the question of whether or not a God exists, but I've got to tell you, I'm convinced we wouldn't be here, as we are, if there were no God. We're just too complex. I don't mean only physically, which we are, but I'm thinking mostly about the stuff we're made of that can't be seen - thoughts, emotions, memories. I think you and I were created as souls and given the bodies into which we were born. This is the beginning of our beauty.

We can choose to be ugly people who do ugly things, but when it comes down to what's at our base, the fact that we were made, with love, with our Creator's ID stamped on our souls, and given a marvelous array of emotions and characteristics, means that we are beautiful. I think it's sad that we've all been confused by our societies' ideals of physical beauty (whatever that is); many of us are confused into believing we are worth less than others when we don't meet those ideals.

I've often found myself secretly wishing to change certain things about myself, and all so "that certain guy I like would find me attractive and not move on to that pretty girl over there". How often have you thought, if only my hair were just a little less tightly curled, or my waist smaller, or my legs longer, or my face rounder, or my calves bigger, or my fingernails shapelier, or...? Stop. Enough. We're getting it all wrong. You're already a magnificent creature. Now claim it and stop allowing people and circumstances to make you believe you are anything less. It's silly. We're wasting time worrying about our beauty, something that is already settled, when we could be using that time cultivating and growing this natural beauty. And helping others hurting around us to do the same.

Please know that you are beautiful, and you are worth more than you could ever comprehend.