Self Portrait of Joy

What does joy look like? Most of us would most cetainly say it would not come in the form of a self-photo.

I love this whole idea of blogging. “Ordinary” people journal online sharing their gifts, ideas, inner thoughts and information. Some for the fun of it, some for the art of it, some to drum up business. It seems blogging gives people the opportunity to remove their self-editing factor and reveal more about themselves. I love it. Being real offers a greater opportunity to grow.

This morning I came across this blog site, http://selfportraittuesday.blogspot.com/. Forgive me, but I never found the author’s name, but the site is wonderful and poignant. She invites women to send in a self-portrait photo once a week. I see you cringing already at the thought… that’s it… that thought of self-criticism that immediately and slyly pops up in your thinking process. Where did that come from? What’s that about? How to we transform that thought of self-judgment to one of great appreciation for who we are? Without that, happiness remains partial and illusive.

The author of Self- Portrait Tuesday reflects on this idea and asks, “…What really makes anyone of us more beautiful then another, because if beauty is bones and skin stretched over them like in the magazines in books stores then we all have some issues.

It’s time to let go of some of the issues and not wait to be someone else’s definition of beauty to be happy, to honor our wonderous being, to embrace our magnificence.

So whether you post it or not, what photo of yourself would you take that represents your deep wonder, that allows your aithentic self to shine through? If you believed you were magnificent, truly believed it, who would you be. What steps can you take to recognize that authentic, happy, and worthy person that is coverd up, weighted down, and held back by misperceptions and limiting beliefs? Become your self-portrait of joy.

In Joy, Rhonda