Attention: You can stop searching for beauty now
2/25/11 The Daily Camera
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All of our lives, women are sent one basic message; self criticism is the way to self-improvement. Deep down, we all know this isn't true, but the lesson runs deep and the pattern is difficult to break.
It can be broken, one woman at a time, one voice at a time. Each of us needs to stand up for the one person who we are most under obligation to protect. That person is ourselves. By learning to embrace who we are, recognize what we have accomplished, and know we can carve out our own futures, we can escape the viciousness of self-criticism and self-loathing.
Iman's Inner Beauty Project is celebration of not just what we can be, but who we already are.
L
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Iman,
I can't tell you how amazing this experience was – to be able to just tell myself things I have always really needed to hear. I think this is something I will do every year for Valentine's Day. I will tell myself all the things my heart is yearning to hear.
I hope more women will enter the contest, and even if they don’t I hope every woman will take the time to write a love letter to herself. We are all hard on ourselves. We all have overcome difficult obstacles in life, and sometimes we just need to acknowledge how strong and remarkable we are.
I have written a lot of things about myself, but this is the first time I wrote something TO myself. It's a very emotional and challenging exercise. But it's so good for the heart and soul. Thank you!
T
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Hi Iman,
Thank you so much for initiating this project! I think you are right - I really needed to say this to myself. I am doing much better now than I was ten years ago, but negative self-talk still sneaks up on me occasionally, and it can be very hard to fight it off.
I loved all the letters posted on your site. It helps keep up my faith in humanity.
Much love,
M
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Hi Iman,
Thanks again for the opportunity to write myself a love letter and put it out there. We all have a story and to know that none of us are alone in our struggles is comforting. I have really connected with all of the women and their letters on your blog. Thank you for bringing us together. You're tremendous! Much love, sister!
A
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Thank you. Though honestly, that's how I feel about your contest. It's one of the most powerful things I've seen in a long time.
L
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This is something I needed to do for a long time and probably never would have. Thank you Iman.
Love,
P
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Now I realize that I may not be as broken and hurt as I thought and my complaints in life are not as great as the next persons, but writing my letter and reading the others allowed me to understand life a little more. Since I have so much to be grateful for I should try to reach out and give back. I don't know where that feeling may lead me, but I know I want to do something bigger with it. There is something greater that I want to do now that I know I'm happy and I'm taken care of. God can use me to pass that on to someone else.
D
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