Who’s the handsomest man of all??!!

Selfies.  So many today!  And, how many actually like taking one?  Or two? Or a thousand? How many get retaken to get just the right smile, pose, angle, gut sucked in?

We are obsessed with perfection.  I must admit that I used to not like having my picture taken.  There was always something wrong. I look goofy, too fat, too smiley, too hunched over, too whatever.  I noticed every imperfection on me.

Where does that come from?  Well, if you think about it, I’m comparing my image with some other image in my mind….of another person who doesn’t have crow’s feet, of a model I just saw online that makes me look so not handsome, of someone else who has what I think I lack.

What would it be like to look in the mirror and see the person deep inside, beyond the exterior, who is quite beautiful, who is in the image and likeness of God, who is pure you?  If I look beyond the bags under my eyes, might I begin to something more, something more youthful, more life-giving, more beautiful, more me? Might I begin to see my true essence?

In that essence there is no perfection, there is only perfect Mark, perfect me.  The one who was created to be this person, look this way, and live this life. My DNA is all over this and it is unique!

Instead of looking for the perfect self, what might it be like to look for the self whose image and likeness is exactly and perfectly as it should be?  The self who has been marked in such a deeply perfect and permanent way that the only selfie that can be taken is the one with the lens of the heart. To see perfect beauty in who you are created to be!  There is no need for a second, third, or thousandth selfie. Truly perfect beauty cannot be captured by a camera, but only by the one who is looking for it.

I see many people searching outside of themselves for the perfect them.  And, quite honestly, they run into many roadblocks and dead ends. Because what they are looking for cannot be found out there.  It has to be searched for and found within. Perfection is within. It has no external standards. Perfection comes from living one’s life in the way that makes you authentic, real, whole, beautiful.  Beauty comes from the soul, not from the cosmetic department or fitness center.

I love journeying with people as they discover that inner place filled with their beauty, their abilities, their compassion and love, their true perfection.  It’s a place filled not with images of crow’s feet and 6-pack abs, but a place filled with heart, soul, beauty, life. It’s a place that mirrors you.