Spring Into Your Beauty

Spring has arrived, and it is a great time of year for defining - and redefining - who we are as women. The Beautiful Women Project is dedicated to challenging the traditional definition of beauty and asking everyone to take a moment and ask themselves, "what is my personal definition of beauty?" Our definition is simple, yet powerful: Beauty is the sum of a woman's life experiences.

The freckles on the cheeks that appear in the summer are reflections of days spent outside having lunch with friends, walking your dog, playing with your children. The lines around your mouth are from laughing at bad jokes, smiling for countless pictures, a constant movement you do with your mouth when you are nervous. The curves that you own, that may have not been there when you were a young girl, are testament to your development and metamorphosis as a woman. And the glow that comes forth from you when you enter a room...that is your true beauty, those are your experiences shining through you for the world to see.

So with spring upon us, take a moment and define - or redefine - your beauty. Think about who you are and what makes you most proud of the woman that you are today. Ask yourself what do I want to do next with my life? Where do I want to be next week, next month, next spring? The experiences that you have along the way to accomplishing the goals that you set for yourself, these are your beauty defining moments. Some will be wonderful, some will be difficult and trying. Just remember that these experiences are your true beauty.

Beauty is a Beast...We Can Tame

Everyday I receive alerts about hundreds of articles and blogs written around the world that focus on women, beauty, and body image. When I began the Beautiful Women Project I had no idea that there were thousands upon thousands of women going through the same thing-trying to find peace, love and happiness in their own skin.

It is easy to place blame on the media, advertisers, Hollywood, even Miss America. Yet, in doing so, we become victims of circumstances that we do not control. I won't speak for women everywhere, but I know that I don't want to be considered a victim anymore. I want to look in the mirror and smile back at myself because I love the person whose reflection I see in the mirror- not to check for lipstick on my teeth. And there are days that this does happen - they are the best days of my life. I am working on making everyday I day I love what I see.

I am learning that it comes down to this...it doesn't matter what the media, advertisers, Hollywood, or the people at the Miss America Pageant think about beauty. All that matters is what we as women think about ourselves. When you have a moment of quiet and think about the person that you are, what makes you smile? For me, it is knowing that I live an honest life. This is very important to me when, especially in a society today that makes it so easy to lie. I tell people my age, height and weight - I am not ashamed. I have grey hair that I color - HA! I don't wash my hair everyday - and not because they say that it is better for your hair. These are the parts of me that make me beautiful and I refuse to be ashamed of my body. There will always be things about physicality that we will want to change throughout our lifetime. So Change Them, but don't lose sight of the fact that beauty comes from within - five pounds heavier or lighter, greys or no greys, age spots or wrinkles - they are a part of who we are as women, not who we are as women.

Reaching Out

Blogging is new to me, I am not sure what I am suppose to write about in this blog. I sit down at my computer keyboard and do what I do .... write. I have learned in the last week that others around the world really do know what to do with their blogs and are doing it very well. Everyday I receive hundreds of alerts for posts that touch on the subjects of women, women and body image, women in the media, etc.... Women of the world, and men too, have a lot to say on the subject of how they feel about themselves, about how women and beauty are portrayed in the media, and so many other topics that are near and dear to me and the Beautiful Women Project.

Everyday I receive hundreds of hits on the Beautiful Women Project web site (www.beautifulwomenproject.org) and the Beautiful Women book is looked at either at an internet book shop or a local bookstores around the world. I think it is amazing how far this project has travelled. One of my favorite things that I get to do is speak with the people who come to our exhibitions and presentations. I can see the lives that I touch and hear their stories while sharing the stories of the thirty five women. The hard thing about the internet, is that I don't get to meet people face to face, and that is what I would really like to achieve with this blog - to hear from the people that are touched by our message and the stories: will you tell me what you think? I want to hear about how you feel about your own body, your personal accomplishments, the idea that beauty is the sum or your life's experiences. I would like to hear what you think of our project, of the book, of the of the amazing thirty five women. So, tonight's blog is just that - a call to the internet world to hear what you all have to say.

I know that you do have a lot to say, just say it to me. Talk Soon.

It Is Time to Take A Moment

It is Sunday and the weekend is winding down. It is a great time to take a moment and recognize the beauty that lies within us all. It is the sum of our life's experiences that makes us beautiful, and remembering that is the first, and often the most difficult part, of really loving ourselves for who we are not what we look like to the outside world. The truth is, the more comfortable we are with ourselves, the more beautiful we are to the world...beauty shines through us.

I, know first hand how hard it is to really think of ourselves as beautiful. I started in a very dark place just five years ago. Despite my own accomplishments, large and small, I didn't find myself beautiful simply because I didn't fit the conventions of beauty. Since I began the Beautiful Women Project, I have come into contact with thousands of women like myself, struggling to find, and accept, their inner beauty. In doing so, I have come to define my own image. Don't get me wrong, I have my moments: the morning (usually a Monday just as I am getting ready to face the week) I see gray hairs popping out on the top of my head, I have become ever more reluctant to walk around the gym in figure hugging clothing, and I often catch myself staring at the age spots on my face. It is easier to get caught up in these "imperfections" rather than recognizing that all of this is just the experiences of my life that make me...me.