That’s Horse Sh*t

I don’t have much time to read magazines but I can’t resist the “free” magazines that my airline miles can be applied to. Usually, the magazines end up in a pile with me saying I’ll look at them … but never do. But the other week, my DVR was empty and my Kindle was dead so my pre-bed downtime was spent flipping through the April issue of O, The Oprah Magazine. I read something I loved so much that I want to share it with you.

The article shared a conversation between a 55 year-old woman and her O Life Coach (can I get myself one of those?!?) The life coaching sessions addressed the woman’s desire for a higher purpose and other topics, including the woman’s struggle with weight gain after menopause. In that part of the chat, O Life Coach  Martha Beck shared a story. She said:

“When I went out looking at horses with an expert, he pointed at one and said, “She’s so ugly.” I was like, “What?” And he said, “Her cheekbones are all wrong, and her ears go funny.” I was dumbfounded. All horses are beautiful. They just are. The deepest part of us knows that every manifestation of consciousness is beautiful. But that’s not what we see when we look at ourselves. Like that horse guy, we know how things are “supposed to be,” which robs us of the beauty that is genuinely present. If you can reawaken to the beauty that is genuinely present in you … you’re actually reconnecting with truth, which is going to free you.”

WOW.

When the concept of beauty is looked at from a different angle – i.e., looking at horses instead of humans – it makes it easier for me to see how silly we humans can be.  That horse guy seems a little crazy. Who’s he to say the horse’s cheekbones are all wrong? That’s horse sh*t (see what I did there? 😉 )And that’s the point. Who’s society/the world  to say size 0 or [insert your own societal standard here] is what’s beautiful or how things are ‘supposed to be’? Also, like the horse expert, we see and focus on ‘flaws’ in our bodies that others don’t even see. What a waste of time and energy. The horse is beautiful, and you are beautiful.

I feel like I need Martha’s words playing on repeat – they are so good. As she reminds us:

Beauty is genuinely present in you.

Reawaken to that beauty.

When you reawaken to that beauty, you are reconnecting with truth.

That truth will set you free. 

The truth is you are beautiful. Just as you wouldn’t willingly let someone rob you of your money, don’t let society rob you of the beauty that is genuinely present in you.

XOXO,

Amy