Capturing Beauty

She has a way with words, and it's one of the many reasons I want to be her. Or at least, be just as awesome.

At her live presentation at creativeLIVE this past weekend, she said something that really resonated with me. "You have to give people the permission to feel beautiful," she said.

Maybe that's why it's so easy to take pictures of my cat. He won't ever turn around and say, "Omg, I look so fat!" Unlike humans, he just knows he's beautiful, even when I forget to tell him.

I don't think most people consider themselves beautiful. I know that I don't feel that way about myself. I'm scared of other people taking pictures of me because all I see in them are the same flaws that I try to hide from the face I see in the mirror. So instead, I take pictures of myself, so that I can be sure I present the face that I like best to the rest of the world, even though I'll tell you that I do it because "I was bored." I'm probably an anomaly, though; most people who don't feel comfortable around a camera probably just stay away from it altogether.

But I want to make other people feel beautiful, too. Feeling beautiful can turn into confidence and having confidence gives a person the power to realize their dreams. In a perfect world, we wouldn't have to worry about it. We would have more compassion on ourselves and remember that beauty is just as much on the inside as it is on the outside and that inner beauty is the more meaningful and lasting of the two. I think it is when we are able to capture both in a photograph that it becomes a true representation of our subject.

And yet we all need a reminder that we are beautiful. Inside and out. Whether you are reminded by a photograph of yourself or by looking in the mirror, embrace who you are. You are loved. Today, you have the permission. Go and be beautiful.