Beauty. Ful.

Well, the satellite at Cowfeathers was having a sick day yesterday, so it stayed in bed and I stayed off the Internet. Kinda lovely.
In any case, yesterday I was thinking about beauty. Specifically, about actual beauty. As in, what makes a woman beautiful. Because, although the messages we get in the grocery line, in television and movies tell us we can all be beautiful, our idea of beauty has become rather narrowed. Now, I'm not talking about the male opinion. I don't have one, and the "wolf whistling worker meter" seems a bit skewed.  Back in my city- days, this might have been a factor to include as it seems the most overt way to gauge male opinion. But, not being city-dwellers,  wolf-whistling-worker types are now on the other side of the windshield.
I am talking about us gals, I actually think most men have a firmer grip on what makes a woman beautiful. I don't think it's just about "perfect features" (what are they supposed to be, anyway? Slender nose? Button nose? Aristocratic nose? Blue Eyes? Brown? Green? High cheek bones? Sculpted ones? Softer rounder features?) I think it is about how you feel about yourself. I think when a woman thinks she is beautiful, she is.
So, to test out this theory, I thought about a population of women I know, it has to be a range, a cross section. My best subject pool seems to be work. There are a range of ages, sizes, colors etc. of women that have worked, or currently work with me. So, who is beautiful?
Well, there are some women who are easily categorized as beautiful, but why? I suspect if you asked them, they might lead with "I just wish _____ was better, different, etc." But, to look at them they are certainly very pretty. And, they do know they are beautiful, just not "perfect".
 There are women who are beautiful, but when I think about their individual features, they are brilliantly making the most of their best bits. Hmmm., very clever. Good going.
And there are women, who when asked if they are beautiful would snort and look aghast. As if "how could someone as average as me consider themselves beautiful?" That displeases me. A lot. Because, although I know scrabbling around on the floor dabbing at bodily fluids from dogs is not really conducive to "looking ones best", each one of the women I work with has it all there. Now, just to believe it. To be beautiful. So, if this is an average cross section of women, not one of them Angelina Jolie, Megan Fox, or Charlize Theron- why is our idea of beauty so focused?
What does it take to be beautiful in scrubs? Zounds. Talk about dressing to no advantage but practical!
So, here's what I think. And, it is my blog, so that is what you get intrinsically. Rules for all women, not just the ones with whom I share employ. So, if you happen to be a Mom from Detroit, or a Shepherdess from New Zealand, a horse-gal from Cincy, or a retired model from Connecticut- here goes.

First: Start leading with the positive. Stop with all the negative! Out loud, certainly, but in your brain too. Why do people say French women are so beautiful? Is it because they don't believe beauty is an exclusive club for which they are not members? Perhaps. Do all French women look alike? Of course not. Are they all beautiful, even the French-Canadian ones? If they think so, yep.  Certainly, if you think you are not beautiful, the impression you give off will be less than convincing. Think about your amazingly blue eyes, or your spicy freckles, or your gorgeously olive skin. The great arch to your eyebrows, your strong shoulders, full lips, tiny waist. Find something you really like. Dwell there.

Second: Treat yourself like you are beautiful. Feed yourself like you are feeding a beautiful woman, take a little time for yourself, exercise yourself, adorn yourself like you are beautiful.

Stand up straight. Even shorties (like you, Gouda, Lee...well, I have quite a few gorgeous shortie friends) are strikingly beautiful when standing proud.
Smile, laugh, have fun. A laughing woman is very beautiful.

Have pleasing teeth. Clean, white (but not that creeeeepy overly-white/blue look) and all present and accounted for.

Analyze your hairstyle. If you are no longer in high school, and you have the same  'do as in high school, it is time to reevaluate. Particularily if you went to high school in the 1980's. But, rule still applies even if you are class of 2009.

This is for all women in health professions - scrubs are for work. And Scrubbing. To be avoided at all other times, except perhaps when at home plagued by digestive upset.

And, because I thought through many, many of the wonderful, beautiful women I work with each week when thinking about beauty;  my pick of the week for the most beautiful woman? The one who has no idea what cards she is truly holding? Unrealized potential? The one who is stopping herself from her own traffic- stopping gorgeousness?  This is a toughie. But, I'm going to have to go with Megan.