Do looks matter more than anything else in this world? Are your looks the cause of stress in your life?

I do not look good….. I am fat….. My skin is not fair…..I am not tall….. My friends tell me that I am not attractive…..

Do such thoughts occur in your mind regularly?

Are you stressed out because of such feelings for yourself?

Do you spend a lot of time envying those who look better than you?

Do you frequently make excuses for not attending social gatherings?

If the answer is a big ‘YES’ to most of the questions, then this post is definitely for you.

Just one request, before you proceed further… please do not read this post cursorily like you might read a news article.

Imbibe the words as you flow with them, because by the time you finish reading the post, I want you to feel a positive energy which will definitely change your attitude towards yourself.

I am not going to tell you that you are overdoing yourself, or you are not able to judge yourself properly. Nah…, nothing like that! I will simply tell you what you are and how you should react.

Let’s commence with three precedents…

Anecdote I – The Ship of the Desert

To cover life in Thar Desert, nature photographer Agnes (from Sweden), visited Jaisalmer, the ‘Golden City’. She was accompanied by her eight year old daughter Nora.

While taking a tour, Nora saw a camel for the first time. She was amazed and intrigued to see such an animal. Pointing towards the camel she expressed her surprise aloud, “Mom! See…..! What a strange looking animal!”

Looking at her expression, her mother smiled and asked, “So you are charmed by the camel! But say, what do you find strange?”

“Oooo…. Mom! Don’t you find it strange? See it has got this weird hump on its back and the legs are so knobbly and the mouth is just strangely enormous!” the kid remarked.

Now Agnes couldn’t help laughing. She responded, “Do you know the camel is called the ‘Ship of the Desert’ and it is so because of its quality of sailing smoothly through the desert. The desert is known for harsh living conditions. Unlike the hills where we live; in the desert, the availability of fresh water and lush vegetation is very scanty. As you can yourself experience, the weather is extremely hot and dry, thus accentuating the need of both these resources.”

After capturing a few moods of the camel, she continued to satisfy the eagerness of her daughter, “In the Thar desert, the camel is not only used by the local residents, but also by the defense and security forces. The legs that seem to be knobbly to you are indeed so sturdy that the camel runs quite fast, despite the thick sand of desert.”

“Darling, you will be more surprised to know that a camel’s ‘weird hump’, as you termed it, is provided by nature to store water so that it can survive the scarcity of water in the desert. Also, the wide mouth is helpful in chewing the thorny plants of desert. So you see, Mother Nature has provided a premium survival kit to the camel.”

After gaining this new information, little Nora pondered for a few moments and further asked, “But Mom, what about its long curved neck? It still seems to be out of place to me.”

“So, angel, you are still undaunted about the looks of the camel”, replied Agnes. “Well, as I stated before, the camel eats leaves of thorny trees and shrubs. The desert vegetation is of such type that it has to twist and turn its neck in order to munch its food. Thus its neck of peculiar shape is a great help!”

Nora started jumping with glee when the camel she was eagerly watching started munching leaves of a nearby thorny tree. Her joy knew no bounds when later that night she saw the decorated camels at the campfire. Looking lovingly towards them, she remarked, “Mom, aren’t they really remarkable?”

In the beginning, the kid was so startled at the extraordinary physical appearance of camel. When her mother explained the usefulness and sturdiness of the animal to her, she felt spellbound by the animal. If a kid can comprehend what really matters – looks or inner strength, then why can’t the grown-ups imbibe this simple fact?

Anecdote II – Peacock’s Feet

First and foremost fact that every person should sow deep into the cortex of his brain is:

“There is nothing like perfect beauty in this world.”

Have you seen a peacock?

A really beautiful and elegant bird!

One gets mesmerized by its multicolored tail feathers, the way it carries itself….. the swift and stylish movement of its long neck and those bewitching eyes; but, have you ever paid attention to a peacock’s feet? The looks of those feet do not at all match with the overall gorgeousness of the bird. From the standards of the worldly beauty, one may categorize them as ugly. Such a beautiful bird, but with ugly feet!

Yet, those feet are very sturdy for carrying its weight, and are the bird’s strongest safety weapon. If it were not its powerful feet, then the peacock would not have been able to carry its attractive body resplendent in vibrant colors with the grace that is its hallmark.

If you want to concentrate on beauty, then it must be wholesome beauty and not superficial one; and the beauty of façade many a times belies what lies within.

The beauty of a person’s character has the radiance that is unmatched by any other thing.

Anecdote III – Guru Ashtavakra

This concept can be further understood by the legendary Guru Ashtavakra, one of the greatest sages and incredible spiritual Guru from the ancient Hindu scriptures. ‘Ashta’ means eight and ‘vakra’ means curve. Guru Ashtavakra was named so as he was born with eight deformities which made his physical appearance quite unattractive.

A physically deformed and ugly looking boy… but a sage!

Guru Ashtavakra had mastered the Shastras (master piece scriptures of knowledge related to religion, spirituality, science, rule of law, administration, etc.) at a very young age; but despite being a genius, he was utmost humble. He never considered his physical appearance as a deterrent in his quest for supreme knowledge and its propagation for the betterment of humanity.

Guru Ashtavakra was highly revered among the learned, elite and common masses. The radiance of knowledge outshined his physical deformities. People were drawn towards him due to this magnetic aura.

There is No Yardstick for Defining Beauty

Everything is relative in this universe and our brain always craves and targets for something better than before. We are living in an era full of visual distractions, in which media plays a major role in defining the so called beauty.

Media defines beauty for its own purpose, seeking the point of view of sales and marketing.

Ask any mother in this world and she will tell you that her child is the sweetest and most beautiful of all children in the world. Even if the child does not look beautiful, you cannot change a mother’s heart. Tell that mother to categorize her child according to the media’s beauty standards and just see her response. She will think that you have gone nuts. I have refrained myself from saying anything further….

Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder.

If a mother does not follow media defined beauty standards, then why is it so that many people blindly rely on them?

In the above-mentioned precedents, if we call a person or creature physically deformed, then, our judgement is outrageously erroneous. Similarly, if we judge ourselves or someone else merely on the basis of physical appearance, then we are highly prejudiced.

Beauty is a virtue, but if you lack physical beauty, let your inner beauty radiate.

Make yourself so strong that people are bound to opine about you on the basis of your good traits and habits that define you and not alone beauty.

To reduce the size of a line, without erasing it, it is more appropriate to draw a bigger line next to the existing one; and every person in this world is capable of doing that.

You just have to decide and then there is no looking back.

Don’t feel stressed because of your looks!

Work on your strengths!

Develop new skills or polish the existing ones!

Help others!

Make yourself indispensable and then feel the difference. You will sure enough become a cynosure.

It is easy to be distracted by a bewitching façade, but it is difficult to remain unruffled by it. People and situations are not meant to be taken at face value. Without further ado, let your inner brilliance cast a spell on others.