Natural

I've grown to have a very deep connection with who I am, what I am, nature and the Universe. Some ways I intertwine myself with Life is through meditation, perhaps some yoga, contemplation, daydreaming here and there, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath. Sometimes I'll paint. Or I'll draw. Or I'll just sit and think. Other times I'll go for a walk, look up at the sky. Gaze at the stars, take it all in. However, over time I have found myself connecting with nature in a more distinct, visible, tangible way.

I used to straighten my hair every day. I used to wear a lot more makeup than I do now. I used to reject and deny my true self. For the longest time I wanted to be able to wear my hair naturally without fearing what other people would think. I used to think there was no way in hell I'd ever be able to live without an application of "beauty" products. Beauty products should be called Insecurity Products. For they distort the way we see ourselves. We define ourselves by what we look like with makeup, how our hair looks. Whether we are good enough, worthy enough. If we look a certain way we'll be accepted. We'll feel safe.

Over the past couple of years I have gradually reduced the amount of makeup I wear. I don't wear anything on my face, just a little bit of mascara. In the past, this would have been unimaginable for me. I also stopped a few months ago, cold turkey, straightening my hair. I wanted to be as close to nature as possible, and that was my biggest personal-incentive. I wanted to be One, as bare as a tree. For in nature, you wouldn't wear makeup or use flat irons.

Nobody should feel they need to rely on beauty products. The beauty industry is making loads of cash, at not only the cost of our wallets, but our self-esteem, self-confidence, and body image. What I found worked for me to withdraw myself from relying on the myriad of self-defeating crap, was to very gradually cut back on using it (excluding when I stopped straightening my hair, that I just stopped.)

And as I have written plenty about before, I also began eating a ton more natural foods from the Earth! Definitely the best way of all to be close to nature, that's for sure!

It's time we see ourselves for what we are! We're amazing and beautiful and no person, group of people, company, advertisement, commercial, billboard or celebrity can make us believe otherwise.