A one-page perfume ad picturing Charlize Theron caught my attention as I was sitting in a waiting room mindlessly flicking through a magazine.
She is simply stunning. I’ve always thought that. And in this particular picture, she was wearing a seductive, yet regal-like gold dress, with her wind-swept hair, she looked simply majestic.
And I am sure you would agree!
Whether it is this particular ad or many others…we are (often unconsciously) inspired by the beauty, elegance, and grace that invokes within us ‘in-that-moment’ of seeing the picture.
But is it all as seems?
If we gave ourselves permission to embrace the beauty, elegance and grace (or whatever inspirations came up for you) THAT ALREADY EXISTS WITHIN OURSELVES…would we feel the same way about the same photo?
Why do I even bring this up?
Do we place too much emphasis on celebrities, “looks”, perceived wealth and level of success as inspiration?
Or more so these days, “Influencers,” who we might perceive ‘more like us’?
Does our inner-critic emerge seconds after that initial awe…telling us, “we could never be that beautiful, wealthy, successful, happy?”
Perhaps we question where we went ‘wrong’ not to have this life.
What if I told you it’s not all what it seems?
I have been doing a deep dive into the underbelly of the entertainment industry (well, connecting the dots of worldwide corruption really…no biggie!) and even if only 1 per cent of it was true…it seems as though – even these globally recognised beauties – have ‘sold out’ in some significant way to get where they are.
While I have no judgment of other peoples choices, we do live in a culture where we have been systematically taught to reject ourselves. Especially women around their value and worth, no matter how beautiful, intelligent, successful, or talented they might be!
And that there are “hoops” to jump through to ‘get to the top’. Especially in industries that are more subjective rather than results-driven (i.e. you can’t argue with an athlete who wins gold!)
Why is this important? Because of the boom of Social Media – we have access to information 24/7 – and if we are not disciplined in how we interact with it…we can get be easily drawn into some very restricted and sometimes distorted ideas of empowerment.
I can’t even go online these days without seeing some artificial cosmetic treatment advertised or promoted…even amongst stunning 20-something-year-olds!
Or seeing ridiculously over-photo-shopped ‘posey’ images. The list goes on.
Again…this is a choice…but does it come from a place of inspiration or disempowerment? Authenticity or false light? If it comes from the latter, the ‘fix’ will be temporary, and the void will still linger.
Is this an old paradigm that we as a society are locked into? That we have to compromise ourselves in some way to get where we want? Tit for tat so-to-speak? Is this path REALLY going to bring the sense of Soul-enriching personal fulfilment…or the opposite?
And I am not talking only females here…this applies to everyone!
Comprise becomes the kryptonite for the consciousness seeker. It acts as a handbrake to your full self-expression.
What if there was a better…more liberating and fulfilling way?
We must learn to embrace the inner qualities we seek in others within ourselves…and Yes, they EXIST!
We must learn to embrace our Inner-(God)dess to unleash our personal power to create the Soul-enriching fulfilment we seek.
When we depend on others for our fulfilment…we crank on the handbrake. While admiring others is fine, ‘worshipping’ is ultimately disempowering because you are ‘dependent’ on another for your inspiration “hit” AND behold – if that person was to ever do something ‘wrong’ – can shatter your world. I go into this in my post, The Great Awakening – Why we must STOP putting people on a pedestal.
When we cultivate our own ‘inner-union’, our experience of our world and our relationship with others THRIVES!
Now THAT is Inspiration!