I love talking about beauty. Especially the true power of your inner beauty.
But this week, I want to go to the dark side.
Sometimes we use beauty as a way to mask or hide the pain we feel on the inside.
Totally normal. I mean, it feels better to focus on things that make us feel good.
But to really tap into the power and essence of who you are, you have to be willing to see the stuff you don’t want to see.
The darkness. The pain. The fears. The shame.
It can be frightening to face these darker sides of ourselves.
We go through our lives trying to hide these sides for fear of rejection.
But it all begins with us accepting ourselves.
The anger, the resentment, the sadness, the fears are all real.
It’s not healthy to pretend they don’t exist, because they do.
But we have the power to decide how much control they have over us.
It starts with having the courage to look within and fully feel what we feel.
Then, it takes real strength to give ourselves loving compassion we need to accept that we have these dark feelings.
True beauty and power is not about only celebrating the stuff that makes us feel good.
Real beauty is about honesty and vulnerability.
It’s about accepting the truth of who you are.
The truth that your darkness is a part of your wholeness.
Without the pain, you would not truly appreciate the light.
Grace comes from honoring your humility within all of life’s moments.
Especially the dark.
Would love to know your thoughts. How do you approach the darker sides of yourself? What do these sides show you about yourself?
The darker side allows me to look at my truth. I am a work in progress and there are good days and bad days. I recently got hit with many personal and business situations and I reverted back to some ole habits. I have been celibate for over a year, quit drinking for a year, and quit smoking cigarettes too. I did not relapse but I started having social cocktails and the moment something happen in my life I went full speed on drinking and realized that never solved things before so why go backward and not go forward and find the new healthy way to deal with my disappointment since I had been in such a good space for over a year. The moral to this is that I had to just get back up and continue to seek the new opportunity to deal with my storms cause the rainbow is coming it automatic it is the nature of the beast. The truth is realize my growth the moment I quickly made the decision to do better since I know better and who cares and god can judge me and at the end of the day the truth will set you free. Blessings!
Thanks for sharing your very brave insights, Jackie. Yes, it’s so important for us to be honest with all the sides of ourselves, esp. our dark sides. When we can face and accept the things that are difficult, then we can allow ourselves to heal. That’s how we can feel truly whole. We need to be kind and patient with ourselves to feel whatever we are feeling. We are doing the best that we can do with what we know. We can accept for ourselves that that is good enough. I love your honesty and vulnerability. Your truth is inspiring. <3
I know it sounds strange, but I actually find it very uplifting to read an article online about the Dark Side of life. Especially from someone who is into beauty and fashion. This is so great! Why is this exciting? Because when we connect with our Dark Side we are authentic – I mean the genuine unsolicited darkness that we all experience now and again, not the made-for-effect shock and horror stories. When we have the courage to face our inner darkness, which is there anyway, we actually bring LIGHT into it and allow it to transform into something bright and beautiful.
I totally agree with Jackie Adams “The darker sie allows me to look at my truth.” It allows us to be authentic, and when we are authentic we automatically connect with our true self, we set ourselves free, and we blossom into our inner beauty and SHINE.
Thank you for this post, Jennifer
Thanks for sharing your insights, Veronika. I feel that it is within our darkness where we have the greatest potential to heal and grow. I completely agree with you that the darkness gives way to an even greater inner transformation. It takes immense courage to face things that are difficult to accept and to move through the pain. But this is the only way to heal and ultimately feel free and truly whole.
Honoring the light and dark sides of beauty is a message that I deeply feel needs to be shared, esp. in the beauty and fashion industry. Beauty is not just a surface expression. It is a powerful source of power that instinctively connects us to our souls and with each other.