Epiblogue - It's been Lovely

It's Been Lovely

This beautiful hibiscus pushing its way toward the light

through the chainlink fence of a power station ompound 

symbolized to me the essence of loving yourself lovely.

I want to be that flower.

The idea behind the Love Yourself Lovely program is quite basic -- to be beautiful in thought word and deed.  To love yourself as much as you love all that you cherish most, and to let that love radiate to all with whom you come in contact; to let it permeate all your activities; and not to let the pressures and challenges of daily life rob you of your beauty, your love or your joy.

There is no more complete embodiment of the Joie de Vivre Lifestyle and concept of Loving Yourself Lovely than the woman who has been crowned The Most Beautiful Woman of All TIme.: (excerpted from: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/05/31/1085855500521.html)

“Film legend Audrey Hepburn [has been] named the most naturally beautiful woman of all time...

The women were chosen for their 'embodiment of natural beauty, healthy living, beautiful on the inside and out, with great skin and a natural glow to their personality, as well as their complexion'...

Audrey Hepburn is the personification of natural beauty...

She has a rare charm and inner beauty that radiates when she smiles”

per wikipedia: "Devoting much of her later life to UNICEF, Hepburn's war-time struggles inspired her passion for humanitarian work and, although Hepburn had contributed to the organisation since the 1950s, she worked in some of the most profoundly disadvantaged communities of Africa, South America and Asia in the late eighties and early nineties. In 1992, Hepburn was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in recognition of her work as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador."

When asked the secret of true beauty, the most beautiful woman of all time was quick to quote humorist Sam Levenson with these lines that have since become synonymous with her own beauty as well as her overall approach to life:

For Attractive lips, speak words of kindness. 

For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people. 

For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry. 

For beautiful hair, let a child run their fingers through it once a day. 

For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone. 

People, more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed. Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each of your arms. 

As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself and the other for helping others.

Perfection personified ...
beauty experts voted Audrey Hepburn
the most naturally beautiful woman of all time

The beauty of a woman Is not in

The clothes she wears

The figure she carries

Or the way she combs her hair.

The beauty of a woman

Must be seen from her eyes,

Because that is the doorway to her heart,

The place where love resides.

The beauty of a woman

Is not in a facial mole,

But true beauty in a woman

Is reflected in her soul.

It is the caring that she lovingly gives,

The passion that she shows,

The beauty of a woman only grows

With passing years. 

And in her own words:

"I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles." 

The last several weeks spent researching beauty, balance, health and happiness have required my perusal of right around a thousand articles and posts on ways for women to love themselves lovely.  After awhile you begin to see patterns emerge.  What I found after all the words on carbs v. fat, cardio v. strength training has boiled down to this.  If you want to be beautiful and healthy inside and out, love yourself by treating others the way you want to be treated... sound familiar?  That’s because nearly every culture has promoted something akin to this Golden Rule as the means to true and lasting happiness.

“The Ethic of Reciprocity -- often called the Golden Rule in Christianity -- simply states that we are to treat other people as we would wish to be treated ourselves.  Almost all organized religions have such an ethic. It is normally intended to apply to the entire human race.” (http://www.religioustolerance.org/reciproc.htm)

Last note.  The LYLLYL blog posts involved me pouring over somewhere in the neighborhood of 1500 inspirational quotes.  Some names became familiar for their words of wisdom.  But who do you think had the most to say on the human condition -- the most down-to-earth heart warming advice?  Was it a famous poet or philosopher?  Shakespeare, The Dalai Lama or Abraham Lincoln?  It was the man considered to be the greatest genius of the modern age --  Albert Einstein.  He was followed by everyone’s favorite children’s author, Dr. Seuss.

I am so humbly grateful for the journey I have shared with you the last six weeks.  I have learned much more than I ever dreamt possible in a challenge of this sort.  It has been enlightening and heartening and proved what I have always suspected... that The Beatles were right.... All You Need is Love... everything else is your opportunity to share it.

In closing I leave you with a few words from our most oft-quoted deep thinker, a true genius of the human spirit: 

“The ideals which have lighted my way, and time after time have given me new courage to face life cheerfully, have been Kindness, Beauty, and Truth. The trite subjects of human efforts, possessions, outward success, luxury have always seemed to me contemptible.” 

- Albert Einstein

And in true Joie de Vivre style, no celebration would be complete without the ultimate expression of triumph, of adversity conquered, of joy and jubilation -- no less than Beethoven’s Ode to Joy

joyous blessings to you all,

Joy