A beautiful thing is never perfect

The craziest thing we heard last week was the news article on Daily Mail accusing Pippa Middleton of wearing a 'false bottom' at the Royal Wedding. Pippa was praised around the world for her shapely figure after the Royal Wedding. Now after more than three years, even after the royal couple had Prince George, French experts have figured out that Pippa was wearing a false bottom on April 29, 2011.  It is either that French experts are not so expert that they took more than three years to recognize that they were fooled with a false bottom or they were too mesmerized by the beauty of it that they couldn’t come up with the accusation until now.

However, it doesn’t matter whether Pipa was wearing a false bottom to us. It is not our bum to be concerned about. Yet, this implies how people are obsessed about their body image; a person's feelings of the aesthetics and attractiveness of their bodies. Psychology Today says that body image is the mental representation we create of what we think we look like; it may or may not bear a close relation to how others actually see us. That is, it is subject to all kinds of distortion from internal elements like our emotions, moods, early experiences, attitudes of our parents and much more. Further, it strongly influences behavior.

We all are concerned about our body image, one way or the other. I don’t think any of us are 100 percent happy with the way we look.  But among us there are people who are overly concerned about it. I believe that this problem affects both men and women; I have noticed people from both genders moaning about how fat or skinny or ugly they look.

There are risks which could follow you if you become overly obsessed about your body image. People who are unhappy with bodies have a risk of developing eating disorders. This may develop as constant dieting, fasting, binging, purging and even overeating if you think you are too skinny which may lead to a series of health issues. Also psychologists say that the body image is closely linked to self-esteem. Low self-esteem can also lead a person to eating disorders, early sexual activity, substance use and suicidal thoughts.

I personally believe that it is not an issue of being happy or unhappy about the way we look. It’s whether we are comfortable with our body or not. Most people do grow out of their self-esteem issues and eventually take their body for granted, but some don't and force themselves to do what not to make them feel and look better. This is also where false bottoms and breasts, even false six packs come in handy. If you go to a pharmacy, you’ll notice how much money they make from selling shape-up milk, diet pills, weight gain or loss powders.

When you look in the mirror, if your first thoughts are to start a diet, how much do you ‘hate’ your nose, hips, breasts or the backs of your thighs? To truly love your body, focus on being active, healthy and fit. Get out and move. Walk, swim, cycle, dance, do yoga, aerobics, participate in any kind physical activity. Don't do it because you think you have to in order to look thinner. Do it because it makes you feel strong and energized and confident. An Egyptian proverb says that ‘a beautiful thing is never perfect’. Perfection is dull, if not impossible. Being happy with your body doesn't mean that everything is perfect. It simply means you've chosen to embrace your imperfections. Look at the handicapped people in the society; look at the people who were born without their limbs, look at the people with birth defects. Think of yourself in that position. Be happy with what you have.