Beauty

A quote from a blog I haunt. It is a note to some women she had spent time with and taken photos of - some day I would love for her to photograph me, I think she is the only one who could ever make me like a photo of myself, but I digress and have just totally proven my own point....... these words struck me .
I need to heed them.
Most of the women I know need to heed them.
I want my 14 year old daughter to have them in her heart.
We all need to listen.
Any woman who has ever avoided having her picture taken, or seen one of herself and groaned, and said something negative.
May we all remember this......

"

“be gentle with yourselves. try and see you as i saw you. i know how hard it is to see yourself and all of your imperfections. just remember, everyone that loves you and knows you sees you just as you are every day, and they love you anyway. you need to love yourselves just as much. we are all very different, and your definition of beauty may not include yourself, but i want it to. because my definition of beauty includes you. all i see when i look at each one of you is immense stunning BEAUTY. each and every one of you is so beautiful and special to me. no matter wrinkles, size, break outs, whatever. it is what makes you YOU. full of character. lovely. unique. (tears!)

please, as you look at your photographs, remember these words. feel my love for you. be gentle. and understand most of all that no matter how much you doubt it-YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL just the way you are."~ Tara Whitney

And the only thing that this blog post really needed is a nice recent photo of me. But you see. I avoid the camera. Hate my picture taken. Again...totally proven my point. So I leave you with one from September. The day I turned 40. I was feeling very content that day. I only need to crop it when I learn how to use the new free program I downloaded!