Easy Beauty – A Déjà vu Entry

Hey everybody…welcome to the Déjà vu Blogfest.  It turns out selecting the right article to re-post was a lot harder than I imagined.  So many deserved consideration, but only one could be chosen.  In the end I decided to select a piece that still resonates with me and I believe sends a message that’s worth repeating. Some of you might remember it, being originally posted on 3/1/10 and well received at the time, but now I’m hoping that a new wave of bloggers will feel the same way.

In case you lost the link, you can find the list of other Déjà vu participant’s right here. Please check them all out because I’m certain you’ll experience some special writing.  Enjoy this special day!

 

We all read a lot of blogs.  I mean A LOT.  The content is so diverse, ranging from instructional, insightful, inspirational, comedic, and everything in between.  It’s rare when I don’t take something from what I read here and find a way to improve my writing, or my disposition.  I consider this community a bubbling spring of enthusiasm and I try to give back as much as I absorb.  I also develop some of my own blog post from snippets of ideas on other blogs.  It could be something as simple as an open-ended question or an unusual turn of a phrase, but I’ll mull it over and expand upon it here, adding my own unique flavor to it.  This is one of those times.

Today’s topic first originated from a blog I read almost a year ago (sorry, I can’t find the link).  It revolved around the author’s pending 39^th birthday and she was reflecting about the increased number of gray hairs on her head, the few extra pounds she was carrying, and the additional wrinkles staring back at her in the mirror.  The gist of her writing revolved around society’s definition of beauty and what women today had to suffer through to try and at least stay in the ball park.  It was a fascinating read for sure, but it wasn’t actually the blog itself that stuck in my memory, but rather a comment left by a fellow reader.  In that remark the person wrote that he didn't really understand men (or women) who went for the "easy beauty".   EASY BEAUTY…what an interesting concept.        

Unconsciously, the seed of what the commenter said stayed with me, germinating until just recently when I read another blog post.  It was written by another female blogger and in her blog she was lamenting about feeling Unpretty.  Her heartfelt post stirred something in me and evoked the memory of the prior blog and that unique phrase.    

Here I am today, still needing to say more.  We live in a society that places far too much emphasis on physical appearances.  It’s fruitless to deny its existence, or relevance, a pheromone in a visual form attracting the sexes to each other and rendering us powerless against its magnetism, like a moth drawn to a deadly flame.  But who created the measuring stick that we all, men and women both, are compelled to compare ourselves to?  A smile with perfectly aligned glistening white teeth, once only available to the wealthy and privileged, is now almost expected.  Bulging bust, trim waistlines, tropical tans, and acne-free complexions are the standards.

It seriously makes me angry when I think about the damage this does (and revenue it generates).  I don't consider it vain or shallow to worry about how others see us. It's simply human nature. The problem is the beauty we desire others to see can’t be found in the mirror. It's in the eyes and hearts of those we come in contact with everyday. We all have a different set of lenses we see the world with and what might be pretty to you...could be unremarkable to me.  But there is one form of beauty that is universal.  And more importantly it’s a splendor that no amount of eye liner, blush, lipstick, highlights, nail polish, teeth whiteners, antioxidant face cream, body oil, styling gel, or perfume can enhance.  That’s our inner-beauty.

The person who can recognize inner beauty, sees so much more.  To me, that’s the true easy beauty because it is so much more natural and organic. Why spend so much energy focusing on cosmetics and an outer appearance that will eventually fade?  Partners drawn to one another by physical appearance alone, eventually, will not see each other.  Concentrate instead on the element of yourself that will resonate long past your prime, and even after you have gone.

How do you identify inner-beauty?  For me, it’s in the little things.  I was in a store the other day, standing in line waiting to check out, when I saw an elderly man by himself who was struggling to carry his grocery bags.  A young woman who was sitting in the coffee shop of the store also noticed the elderly man.  She sprung up from her chair, took the grocery bag from the grateful customer, and walked the man out to his car.  I honestly can’t remember what the woman looked like, but I remember her actions.  I had witnessed inner-beauty. 

Let’s not have a misunderstanding here, I appreciate looking at a beautiful girl as much as anyone.  But that doesn’t mean any woman’s self-worth should be determined by how pretty I think she is.  I believe that any woman with a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye...can never be considered anything but beautiful. A vibrant inner-being will always shine through. That doesn't mean they'll win any beauty contests...but in the end...why should they need to?

Coffee Shop Déjà Vu

Writer Gold: *sitting down* How many years have we been coming here?

Writer Red: A couple…at least.  Why?

Writer Gold: Well, that’s the first time I’ve used their rest room and I have to say it was disgusting.  Just awful.  You were just in there Black, didn’t you think so?

Writer Black: Not especially.  You must keep a really tidy house.

Writer Gold: Believe me, between chasing after the kids, cooking, and trying to find time to write, cleaning is on the bottom of my to do list!  

Writer Blue: What is it that was so nasty in there?

Writer Gold: *hushed* I found a pubic hair.

Writer Blue: That’s not so uncommon.

Writer Gold: In the sink?

Writer Black: Oh, that was probably mine.

Writer Gold: WHAT!

Writer Black: I had to pull my extra panties out of my purse to find my calculator – it probably fell off then.

Writer Red: I can’t decide whether to be concerned more that you have a used pair of panties in your purse, or that you found it necessary to use a calculator in the ladies room.

Writer Gold: Nevermind!  I’m sorry I brought it up.  So what is everyone re-posting for the Déjà vu Blogfest this Friday?

Writer Blue: I’ve only been blogging for less than a year.  I’m not sure I have anything worth posting again.

Writer Gold: That’s silly; everyone has something they can repost.  There’s like a bazillion bloggers signed up for it already, so you really want to take part in it, for no other reason but the exposure.

Writer Red: It’s a really cool concept for a blogfest.  DL comes up with the neatest idea’s.  Remember last year’s Significant Other blogfest?

Writer Gold: Oh, I loved that one!  But he may have topped himself with this one though.

Writer Black: I’m going to write mine tonight.

Writer Blue: Write what?  I thought you were supposed to re-post a previous blog submission?

Writer Red: You are.  What are you writing Black?

Writer Black:  I was going to write about how I often have these weird past life impressions of being plantation owners wife back in the 1800’s.  

Writer Gold: Black, that’s reincarnation, not Deja Vu!

Writer Black: Oh.  Then, what’s Déjà vu?

Writer Gold: Did you even read any of the posts explaining the blogfest?  Katie, Nicole, Lydia and DL all had something about it.

Writer Red: Not to mention the entire blogosphere has been talking about it for weeks.

Writer Blue: I can pull it up on my iPad if you want.

Writer Black: Okay, I admit it, with me trying NaNo this year and everything else that goes on during the holidays, I may have been skimming through some of my regular blogs.

Writer Blue: Hey guess what…I just got another notification on my Google reader that DL posted again today.

Writer Red : You’re kidding. Let me guess, another reminder about his Blogfest?

Writer Blue: Bingo!

Writer Red: Geez! Does that guy ever quit? Somebody needs to show him what a broken record looks like.

Writer Gold: Whoa!  I just got a serious Déjà vu!

WRiTE CLUB - Round 6

This is a big week.  WRiTE CLUB has made it to the mid-way point with this weeks round six, going strong as ever, and on Friday the Deja Vu Blogfest kicks off.  This may be the blogosphere's slow season, but things sure seem to he hopping from what I'm seeing.

When I was putting together WRiTE CLUB I did a little bit of research to see if anything in a similar vein existed.  The closest thing I found was a WRITE CLUB based in Atlanta where weekly write-offs were held at a local club, having writers read aloud samples of their work to a live audience.  It was a novel (pardon the pub) concept, but what I didn't like about it was the possibility of it turning into a popularity contest.  Appearances and personality could easily shift the focus away from the words.  That's why I enjoy the anonymity of our WRiTE CLUB.  There is nothing to distract the spectators from that which truly matters...the WRiTING!

Speaking of WRiTING, we have a couple of new opponents for you this week.  The submissions continue to roll in, so one side of the draw will come from the newby pool and the other side from the open pool.  So, without further ado.....

Here are this week's randomly selected WRiTER's.

 

Standing in the far corner, weighing in at 249 words, please welcome to the ring…….. 

 

NEXTMARK

“A family.”  Athena was disgusted.  “They killed a family.”

Perseus gestured at the other figures.  “Athena, all these are facing away from the Gorgons.”

“As if fleeing.”  She thought deeply.  “They do not turn to stone instantly.  This man was carrying the child as they fled.  The Gorgons do something to them to start the process of hardening, then the victims try to get away.”

“‘Start the process.’  You mean something different from just their ugliness?”

“No matter what, use the reflection in the shield to look at them.  My thoughts on this are incomplete.”

“My mother once told me of a man who was bitten by a snake, and he became stiff, as if made of wood—”

“Did you go deaf?”  Athena was angry about the dead family, angry about secrets held by her fellow immortals, and angry about her inability to control this young man.  “Do not ponder your way into doing something unsafe.  I didn’t pluck you off the island of Samos so you could think your way into trouble, instead of listening to wisdom!”

“You didn’t choose a man who was deaf, or unable to think.  I can do both!”  His cheeks tightened with anger.  “Why can’t I listen to your wisdom as you talk out loud, and we both draw the same conclusion?”

“Because we’re approaching danger, that’s why!”

“Oh, is that why I brought this weapon?  I thought we were approaching some paved fountain in the desert with little children skipping around.” 

And in the other corner, also weighing in with 249 words, let me introduce to you ……..

LUCK LEFT HOOK

The man placed the bottled water in his pocket and lifted the second rock. The massive size of it required him to extend his arms across as far as they would go. Although the breadth and weight of the next slab would be insurmountable to two men, he lifted the much heavier concrete slab with the same dexterity and effort as the first.

Abby's forearm appeared. It was as ashen in color as the rocks it nestled in. The man moved rocks, small and large, tirelessly until he was satisfied with the opening. He began to dig down and test the rocks. He moved deeper rocks to form a ridge along the perimeter of the hole, much as a child digging a hole in the sand. He pulled gently enough to move the Abby, but not so he would dismember her if she were still caught.

The man arranged her on the most level ground, but no good place existed to place the girl flat on her back. Leaning forward, he placed two fingers on her neck. It was a quick and sure procedure that only verified what he already knew.

He was not alarmed by the lack of a pulse.

A booming sound from yards away drew his attention only for a moment as firefighters rushed to contain and extinguish the flames from a compromised gas pipe.

He looked down again at Abby. A film of dried blood crackled on her skin to form a spider's web pattern.

Leave your vote for the winner of round 6, along with any sort of critique you would like to offer, in the comments below.  Please remind your friends to make a selection as well.  The voting will remain open until noon Sunday.  

Remember, here in WRiTE CLUB, it’s not about the last man/woman standing, it’s about who knocks the audience out!  Want to take part in the word battles, throw your pen name into the hat anytime during the first twelve rounds by submitting your own 250 word sample.  Check out the rules by clicking on the badge below…then come out swinging!

Where words are the true knockout!

PS.  Its not too late to register for the Deja Vu Blogfest scheduled for this Friday, December 16th.  It's going to be EPIC!

 

 

WRiTE CLUB Round 5 - Results

Sorry, I'm running a little bit late today, but here I am with this weeks results.  We bounced back last week with our second highest vote total, with some excellent feedback to boot.  When the bell clanged and the dust settled, here's how it turned out:

PANAMA RED - 20 votes     TRIXIE LaRUE - 11 votes

PANAMA RED takes round 5!  He/She will join the other four winners in the semi-finals which will begin in February.  This was Trixie's second tough match, but she's a WRiTER and understands that the whole process is subjective.  She's talented enough to storm back with a landslide victory any given week.

These results will be posted on my WRiTE CLUB page, along with links to all of the writing samples.

The mid-way point, Round 6 begins tomorrow morning.  You shouldn't expect this to get any easier because the talent waiting in the wings will amaze!  See you tomorrow  :)

Blogging Insecurity…or…Déjà Vu (Again)

This post serves as my December entry for Alex J. Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writers Support Group and today I’m going to discuss a different type of insecurity…blogging insecurity.

I still remember what if was like when I first started blogging and the only people who read my posts was…me.  I was clueless how blogging really worked, how this particular blogosphere operated and what the “rules” were.  Once I started attracting a few followers, a new panic arrived with them.  I was terrified to open my mouth for fear that what few followers I had would simply yawn and walk away…unimpressed.  It wasn’t until I decided to treat my blog as just another test…a test to decide whether or not I deserved to be published…that my blogging voice started to blossom.  If I couldn’t attract a respectable number of followers, hold their interest, spark some discussions via the comment section, and make my blog as interactive as possible, then I didn’t deserve to be published.  That’s all I’ve ever tried to do, and the jury’s still out.

In that vein, you learn early on that blogging is not a “if you build it, they will come” endeavor.  You have to participate…early and often…if you expect readers to take an interest.  To assist with this, bloggers have created events such as Blog Hops, Blog Rolls, and Blogfests to help cross-pollinate the expansive blogosphere.  All of these are designed to do expose bloggers to others they may never otherwise come in contact with.  I want to talk more about Blogfests because I actually have one scheduled to begin in just over a week.

How do blogfests work?  The host (of which there can be several) announces the topic, the posting date (usually several weeks in the future), any guidelines, and provides a web-tool that creates a list of every blog signed up to participate.  Why would you need more than one host, to broaden the exposure base and make sure as many bloggers as possible find out about it and sign-up.  To sign-up, the blogger simply inputs their blog name and paste a link to their blog in the web tool.  How do you obtain a link to your blog?  You see that address bar at the very top of the screen?  With your own blog on the screen (the home page, not a specific post) click anywhere in that box and the entire address will be highlighted.  Next, position your mouse over the highlighted address, right-click, then select copy.  Return to the web-tool and paste the copied link into the appropriate box, and wah-la!  Now all you have to do is make a note on your calendar (you’d be surprised how many bloggers sign up then forget) and post your contribution on the day scheduled.

 

The blogfest I’m hosting, with three of my blogging buddies, is called the Déjà vu Blogfest.  On December 16^th everyone who’s taking part will be re-posting their favorite blog post, or one that never received the exposure it should have.  Then as the day unfolds and everyone jumps from one blog to another (using the list on any of the four hosts blogs), what they will be reading constitutes the best of the best.  It’s perfect for newby bloggers and veterans alike.  What a perfect way to showcase your finest, to introduce yourself to hundreds of new followers, and discover new blogs to add to your Google reader.   The best part…no additional writing necessary!

I have a feeling this blogfest is going to be EPIC!  There’s going to be “a great disturbance in the Force” as the cream rises to the top.  A ripple will be sent through the blogosphere that will be remembered long after the next round of posts are updated. At last check we had 124 bloggers registered, but that only scratches the surface of what's possible.  Some might be deterred from participating because 100+ blogs is a lot to read, but there's no need to do it all at once.  After everybody post on Dec. 16th I will edit Mr. Linky so that all of the names point directly to those re-post, so even if you can't get to all those blogs that weekend you'll be ever to find them anytime you wish.      

I didn’t start with such lofty goals.  When I pitched this idea to my three cohorts, Katie Mills (Creepy Query Girl), Lydia Kang, and Nicole Ducleroir, I hadn’t taken the time to really think about the impact a successful blogfest of this type could have.  There isn’t a blogger out there that doesn’t have a couple favorite posts, or a few that really struck a chord with their readers.  Should you pick a post that generated the most comments for you, or the most site-hits, or one that tugs at your heart?  But I suggest you don’t wait until the last minute to decide which to re-post.  I’ve known about this for a long time and I’ve changed my mind more times then I can count.

So, if you’re a little bit insecure about your blog, now’s the time to start putting it to the test.  Click on the badge above and sign up now, then tell everyone you know about it.  Still hesitant?  Leave me a comment and I’ll hold your hand through the entire process. :)

PS.  Don’t forget to cast your vote for Round 5 of WRiTE CLUB!