Vanity

"I'm not the greatest; I'm the double greatest.  Not only do I knock 'em out, I pick the round."  ~Muhammad Ali Howdy!

I am my favorite subject.  I am also my favorite person to be with and look at.  The definition of vanity is "excessive pride in or admiration of one's own appearance or achievements."   My favorite part of the definition is the word excessive which means:  More than is necessary, normal, or desirable; immoderate.  So basically vanity is more than normal pride in or admiration of one's own appearance or achievements (it is also totally subjective).  By definition I am vain.

When I was a child, much like you, I was in awe of myself.  Mirrors were magic.  I saw my own reflection and was amazed.  I discovered my hands, my toes, my tongue, my legs.  It was all miraculous.  I discovered everyone else too and was equally astounded.  Everything was beautiful and delightful and fantastic.  I was encouraged to continue to feel this way about myself and others if I wanted.  I was told on a regular basis that I was beautiful and perfect and wonderful.  I was given the support to continue to be amazed well beyond the time when most others are feeling uncomfortable about their bodies and being.

When I lived with my father in NYC my sister and I would struggle to get to be the one to sit in front of the full length mirror.  He had a few but one was positioned to the left of the TV, in front of it was a stool.  We loved sitting on this whist admiring the view and watching the tube.  One day my dad came home with a beautiful mirror, framed, free-standing, pivoting mirror.  He told us that if we are going to look at one all day it may as well be beautiful, reflecting that which we are.  I remember that mirror and appreciated the love he brought with it when he bought it for our home.

I believe that vanity could save most people's lives.  I believe being a bit more vain would get people up and moving.  For me, vanity or pride is what keeps me from believing that I deserve less than looking and feeling great.  It motivates me to seek out answers to health issues.  It helps me rebound from devastation.  My vanity refused to let me believe that I am anything less than AWESOME!  It also allows me to support other people in their journey towards beauty, inner and outer.  I am not jealous of anyone because I am so proud of myself, I don't have the desire to ever be anyone else.  I am not envious of anyone because I am in awe of me.  I feel strongly that I am doing what I am supposed to be doing, am where I am supposed to be, and going where I need to, because I couldn't do anything less.  Vanity is one of the best things about me :) and I will say so myself.

I am not the only one that believes that vanity is amazing, you do too.  Look at who we admire: people who have strong work ethic, look great, do great, and feel great.  We all know, inside ourselves, that vanity is pretty cool.  Many of us spend a lot of time putting others down who are vain because it is what we admire… and that which society has told us to squash.  That it is somehow against spirituality.  We were given this body, this mind, this soul to do what with???  Ignore?  Neglect?  Put down?  Disrespect?  If we truly understood how miraculous we were as babies why would we stop as teenagers and adults?  Why do we suddenly tell children, after being so impressed by their amazement with themselves, to stop being so into themselves, that it is 'bad' to enjoy all that you are.  At some point we beat the love and the vanity out of each other…  Where does it get us?  Working jobs we hate because we don't feel like we deserve better… staying in situations that don't work but who are we to want more for ourselves?  Vanity can be the catalyst to make changes and reach new heights of joy and fulfillment.

Someone who isn't vain on some level isn't going to care how they look, what people think or how others feel… because they take no pride in themselves they have a hard time being proud of others.  If you want to build others up you must first start with yourself!

Now back to the definition.  I am excessive in just about everything that I do, by definition.  I work out more than normal, I am fitter than most people, I eat better than most, I laugh more, I talk a hell of a lot more and I try my damnedest to love as many folks as I can… excessively if you will.  Personally, I don't have an issue with someone feeling better about themselves than most.  Look around at how many people neglect their physical, psychological, spiritual and emotional health.  A little vanity could go a long way.

Just sayin'.

"Vanity is so secure in the heart of man that everyone wants to be admired:  even I who write this, and you who read this."  ~Blaise Pascal

xo

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