An Airbrushed Life

Sometimes, I truly think nothing happens by accident. Lately, my primary goal has been to take action every day but this has been a very inactive day. As I said in a previous post, I haven’t felt well. So, around 2:00, I decided to give in, take some aspirin and lie down. I rented a movie I’ve been wanting to see for months, Book Club. 

The plot of the movie revolves around four old female friends, with the emphasis on old. Even though the characters are a few years older than us, I was very much reminded of three good friends of mine whom I often get together with to talk and share laughter and tears. I was also struck by the similarities between these characters’ insecurities about their aging bodies and my own. 

I was talking with a friend just yesterday about how we hide behind make up or at least I do. The only person to see me with out makeup on purpose is Steve and oddly (to me), he prefers me that way. I was thinking today as I watched this movie, how we try to disguise our true selves especially as we age. I know that advertising and fashion mags are responsible for a lot of this because they show us an impossible ideal. Impossible because those models in the photos aren’t perfect either. They are all airbrushed. I heard one of the most famous swim suit models say that she’d frequently been ridiculed on the beach because beneath the airbrushed image was a normal and flawed woman with stretch marks and cellulite. Yet, most of us spend a large portion of our lives not only attempting to cover our flaws but really trying to be someone other than who we are. Even in our homes, in our lives, most of us try to live up to society’s ideal. But, here’s the thing...if I think back to the most beautiful and striking women I’ve known in my life, none of them have been perfect and most were far from that physical ideal and yet, they were breathtaking. Why?...because they knew themselves, they respected and admired who they were and they reveled in their uniqueness never wanting to possess sameness or look or be anyone other than who they were. Sadly, I think most people want what they think is expected of them and life. It takes bravery to embrace your uniqueness and flaunt it. It takes strength to show your true self to the world sans cover or airbrushing.