I sometimes wonder if I should read ahead to see all of the topics in this 30 days of self-love; so I know what’s coming. I’m late writing today’s post and it is one which requires a bit of thinking. Although… I have less time to overanalyse things if they are sprung on me… so here I go with today’s theme: Our outward beauty.

Our inner workings truly make us beautiful. Our outward characteristics do so as well…and not just because what our bodies can do, like we share in the gifts of the body posts. We must also believe the term “beautiful” can be an accurate way to describe our physical appearance.

No two people on this Earth share the exact same physical characteristics. Even identical twins up close display different features thanks to different experiences and preferences. The uniqueness of you alone is enough to make you beautiful. We each have alluring qualities in which we can build our confidence and recognize as attractive.

We cannot definitively define beauty as each culture and every individual within that culture holds a distinct opinion of what classifies beauty. Do not allow the trap of popular opinion to ensnare you into thinking you lack beauty. That simply is not true. Find what you think makes you beautiful and take pride in it. What feature do you deep within your gut know makes you physically beautiful? Do not believe any different and bask in the gratification of honoring your unique appeal.

We must not forget that outward appearance does not define our worth as a whole. However, me must also feel free to declare our beauty on the outside. We all desire it…and we all have it. What physical characteristic makes you beautiful?

O. M. F. G! By now you will know that I loathe vanity. When I was younger and not fat, I would look in the mirror occasionally. Nowadays I avoid anything that reflects my appearance in any way. So, the idea of identifying some external characteristic that I believes makes me beautiful is very confronting to me. I worry that readers will think me vain. Or arrogant. Or worse still – wrong!

My body, as it is, could not be classified as beautiful. Seriously, I’m not being coy or humble. EVERYTHING is too fat. And I am no spring chicken any more, so I have my share of war wounds (namely stretch marks etc). My eyes are okay, but I’m shortsighted. My nose is not cute, but a bit pointy. My ears are NOT unattractive but I can’t help but think I shouldn’t be writing about them here… which really only leaves my mouth. And while it is nothing special, I like to think my smile is okay. I included it in my ‘gifts of the body’ post recently.

As a youngster I had the ability to paste on a cheesy grin while in dance concerts or eisteddfods. It pops up when required in photographs as well. It is definitely something I took for granted, until one day my childhood best friend confessed to smile-envy. Although some of my bottom teeth are a tad crooked, my tops ones are large and straight. They aren’t quite as white as they once were (hello, red wine and diet coke addict!) but they’re still okay. My childhool bestie (and neighbour) had small teeth. In photos she would smile by locking her teeth together in some grimace. It was never pretty and as a result she rarely smiled in photographs. I’d never really realised this until she mentioned it to me. So, I am grateful for my large, almost white, almost straight teeth and cheesy grin.

So there you have it. Even though my face is fatter, dimples less obvious and teeth less white, I still think my smile is okay. I don’t want you to think I’m being glib when I say I can still ‘paste it on’ when required. Mostly when I smile I feel my eyes crinkle up as well and it feels like my whole face is smiling… not just my mouth.