Sunday, May 13, 2007

Love Yourself as a Woman, Woman!

I've decided to copy selected entries from my main blog and transfer a few of them here in my all-new blogger account. So any entry with the label "old post" means it's been copied from my old journal.

Help yourselves, people.

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Love Yourself for Yourself, Woman!

I've been browsing around for articles about Mother Teresa. I don't know. I just felt like it because I want to remind myself of the important perspective on women... and share it to whoever's reading it (despite disagreements):


God told us, "Love your neighbor as yourself." So first I am to love myself rightly, and then to love my neighbor like that. But how can I love myself unless I accept myself as God has made me? Those who deny the beautiful differences between men and women are not accepting themselves as God has made them, and so cannot love the neighbor. They will only bring division, unhappiness, and destruction of peace to the world. (Mother Teresa, Snippet of Message to Fourth UN Women's Conference)

I remember mentioning to my boyfriend "Iba kasi treatment sa aming mga babae eh. Alam mo na, sobrang daming biases at expectations na dapat ganito kami...ganyan kami. Daming critics. Pati kapwa babae nanghuhusga na ng kapwa babae. Ang hirap talaga. Nakakainis." I think my little speech was an end in itself. It won't help me improve as a woman at all. I believe my heart was trying to tell me while that little speech spilled from my mouth: "So what?"

I think I've done my part in accepting the dfferences between men and women....what i need to do now is step two: to love these differences.

I am unique. You are unique. We are all unique. I love myself. You should love yourself. We should love ourselves for who we are. IF you don't, then start doing it now. The problem with "impossible dreams" is that it remains a dream...we never start making it come true.

I have always been babbling about physical judgement of other people. I don't look anything like the actresses in television. I am beautiful as I am. They are beautiful as they are. Society may have the power to dictate which people look more beautiful than others...and it can only tap our feelings towards our own beauty but can never control it. If we love ourselves for how we look, we can still feel beautiful...and thus, be beautiful.

Take for example, these women wanting to change themselves in plastic surgery to feel better about themselves. These women may find themselves physically beautiful...but are they truly, really happy? They may say they are happy...but why are they happy? Because they finally feel sexy? That others pay attention to them? As long as they live principle-centered lives, live acording to their values, love their selves AND love others...only then can plastic surgery be morally helpful to these women. Impossible? Nah.

I believe these women still have the potential to truly love themselves.

They just need to make that crucial choice of looking beyond their physique.

I am not against plastic surgery. If it may help them, then maybe it's for their own good....but they should know that changes will happen inside of them once they do. They should not feel better about themselves just because they look better. They should watch out that feeling better about themselves in that way is superficial. It is only temporary. Sooner or later, the inner life after surgery will come in...they should be ready for that.

I have never gone to surgery...but I've been thinking about getting rid of my eyebags. My reason? To prevent others from judging me rashly because of them; it's annoying. As early as now, I am preparing emotionally...I am still considering. Ah well, who knows what I'll decide in ten years or so?

As for now...I believe my answer lies in this quote:

People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered; Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, People may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives; Be kind anyway. If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies; Succeed anyway. If you are honest and frank, People may cheat you; Be honest and frank anyway. What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight; Build anyway. If you find serenity and happiness, They may be jealous; Be happy anyway. The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow; Do good anyway. Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough; Give the world the best you've got anyway. You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God; It was never between you and them anyway. (Mother Teresa )


Life is an opportunity, benefit from it. Life is beauty, admire it. Life is bliss, taste it. Life is a dream, realize it. Life is a challenge, meet it. Life is a duty, complete it. Life is a game, play it. Life is a promise, fulfill it. Life is sorrow, overcome it. Life is a song, sing it. Life is a struggle, accept it. Life is a tragedy, confront it. Life is an adventure, dare it. Life is luck, make it. Life is too precious, do not destroy it. Life is life, fight for it. (Mother Teresa of Calcutta)

If want to do this...I should just do it.

Thus, I am cutting this blog entry short.

May all of you be happy. God loves you. We just need to look beyond the silence.

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