Perfection

I love taking photos - and still want to try portrait photography some day (Big Camera dependent...). So I often find myself browsing the work of others.

HOWEVER...

The quickest way to depress yourself is to hang out on a site like this (nudity warning for those who need it) and start comparing yourself to the chicks in the pics! They're all different, but all the very image of perfection.

No wrinkles, no cellulite, no spots - every limb long and lean, every curve full and perky, hair perfectly styled, make-up flawless.... It's enough to make me never want to get undressed or look in the mirror again! :-)

And yet it's what us women are told we need to look like. Perfection - or we just fade into the crowd as insignificant, old, ugly, background noise. No wonder we end up with eating disorders, millionaire fashion houses and beauty products that cost the better part of a month's salary. No wonder many have bruised and battered images of themself lodged firmly in their head that no amount of evidence to the contrary will budge. No wonder too many of us are never happy, never satisfied, never proud of the unique women we are - flaws and all.

Earlier in the year I read a book about one woman's journey - and how she came to an acceptance and love of who she was. From her grey hair to her laughter lines, to every part of herself. How she learnt to embrace who she was and not want to change a thing - instead to relish each stage of her life and find the beauty in it.

That's where I want to be, it's who I want to be. Uninfluenced by these images of perfection that bombard my screen, my world, my head. It's hard though. It's a daily battle to accept yourself fully, to see your own unique beauty in spite of what society deems the ideal.

As much as I think I have a good body/self image, I still struggle at times. Especially when confronted with photos like these. When my goals and all the hard work I'm putting in to be healthy, fit and "magnificent" for the next year of my life simply seem so hard to accomplish. It's easy to pick yourself apart, point out the bad bits. Too easy to think of yourself as unattractive and worthless. I know I'm not alone in this - a good deal of our female population on the planet faces the same fight every day.

So what's the solution? To chuck societal expectations and norms completely perhaps, accept fully the beautiful person you are (inside if not outside) and simply be content. At least I think that's it.. :-)

::update::
Almost forgot this - no-one's perfect after all...