Nobody is superior, nobody is inferior and neither equal. We all are simply incomparable and unique. I wonder why people have such a queer tendency of trying to portray a character of themselves whom they really are not. Reading success stories, we try to adopt qualities of others just to become successful and to prove ourselves.

Dreams do come true for those who have the courage to believe in them. God created all of us with unique qualities. He didn’t create us to be perfect. We should appreciate our uniqueness and nurture it. Believe me, those different talents of ours will create success stories one day. All great people with huge wealth, magnificent empires, and extraordinary ideology have been successful because they never followed anyone; instead, they believed in their uniqueness. We must have the courage to dream and passion to work.

By obscuring our true emotions with fake expressions, dreaming about a better life, and trying to satisfy others, we are probably exploiting ourselves. Instead of being somebody else, try to be yourself because you are meant to be simply unique. The world needs the real you. Stop trying to become like others by copying them; just be yourself because you are perfect in your imperfections and different in your own little ways.

As it has been rightly said: “Being unique is better than being perfect.”

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I am not perfect and perhaps may never be,
But what really matters is that I am happy to be me.

I love myself and all about me,
Sometimes stressed and anxious, seldom carefree.

Considering all my negative and positive aspects I see,
I adore myself and believe in me.

Being my true self brings out the best in me,
Trying to be like someone is not my cup of tea.

So if I had a choice regarding who I want to be,
I’d say, I wanna be me, because I am happy to be me.

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If you are overweight, it would be right to lose the excess weight for your own physical well-being. How we look often influences the way we feel. Not being in the right shape can make you feel conscious sometimes. It is often good to practise self-love, which means that irrespective of your physical appearance you love and appreciate yourself for who you are. Each one of us is made differently, however, finding love in your own uniqueness is essential.

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Your scars don’t make you weak,
Your thorns don’t make you perilous,
Your darkness doesn’t make you evil,
Do they?

Those deep scars show how brave you are.
Those thorns show how beautiful you are above them.
That darkness shows how bright you are on other side.
Do you consider them as flaws?

Yes, they might be
But what are you without them?
Nothing but an ordinary person.
Your flaws are your uniqueness.

Dare to accept them.
Dare to show them.
Dare to embrace them.
Dare to be you!

The post Your uniqueness appeared first on The Teenager Today.

The first step towards any kind of success is being what you are; this is the first step towards becoming better than you are. You get to fill the blackboard of your life with whatever you want. Identify your interests, knowledge, skills, talents and passion and follow it with your heart. Nobody is as disappointed and unhappy as the person who spends his/her life longing to be somebody else. The person who trims himself to suit everybody will soon whittle himself away. If you don’t have a plan for your life, you’ll only become a part of someone else’s. There is only one life for you — your own. The person who walks in someone else’s tracks never leaves his own footprints.

The easiest thing to be in the world is you. The most difficult thing to be is what other people want you to be. Don’t let them put you in that position. The opposite of courage is not fear but conformity. So try to understand your uniqueness and become better with each passing day. No one ever became great by imitation, so imitation is a limitation. There is no need for justification of who you are; you are marvellous, and your belief will make this true. So make your own impression.

One of history’s greatest artists once said: “My mother said to me, ‘If you are a soldier, you’ll become a general; if you are a monk, you’ll become the Pope.’ Instead, I was a painter and became Picasso.”

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I am the tip of the roots
And the highest limb of the tree.
I am the heat of the desert
And the water of the sea.

I am slower than the sloth.
Yet I am faster than the tiger.
I am soft as cotton balls.
Yet, I am the toughest fighter.

I am the spine of a person
And the knife which kills another.
I am just another you.
Yet, I am unique like no other.

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“Could you get those sections touched up?” asked my friend to the curator of one of the best art galleries in the city. She smiled. “To touch it up,” she said, “I’ll have to go to the core of the painting and start with the colours the artist originally used. Now what we see are colours mixed with layers of dirt.”

Can you restore a masterpiece? Imagine you are walking through the Louvre museum in Paris. As you approach Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa painting, you take out your handkerchief and try to rub off the shine from Mona Lisa’s hair. You pull out a palette and brush and try touching up the face. Maybe put some colour on her cheeks? She is not too good-looking you feel, so change her nose a little?

That’s ridiculous, you say! For nearly 500 years the Mona Lisa has been considered one of the greatest works of all time. How absurd to think we can restore this masterpiece!

Rebecca McLain, who restores valuable paintings, says that she has seen many works of art damaged when the owners attempt to clean them with oven cleaners or abrasive powders. Her advice: if you value the art take it to an expert for restoration.

Read the full article by subscribing to the print magazine or the digital edition.

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Man is the only creature who can perceive beauty and create beautiful things. A sense of beauty is one of the choicest blessings given to man. “Beauty is the gift of God,” says Aristotle. There is always the possibility of beauty where there is a perceptive human eye; of music where there is a sensitive human ear; and of inspiration where there is a receptive human heart and soul. Love of all beautiful, exquisite, wonderful things is indispensable for our growth and development. It brings a reverence and a sense of transcendence into our personal life, and indeed into all of life. Those who contemplate the beautiful things of this world find fresh reserves of strength that invigorate their minds and hearts. The following lines of John Keats succinctly capture the quiet power of beauty on us:

A thing of beauty is a joy for ever;
Its loveliness increases; it will never
Pass into nothingness; but still will keep
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams and health and quiet breathing.

What is beauty?

Beauty can be defined as that which pleases the eyes, delights the mind and endears the heart. Thomas Aquinas, the great philosopher, speaks about the three components of beauty: splendour, harmony of proportions and wholeness or integrity. Plato speaks of beauty as the splendour of truth, and 2200 years later, Keats articulated this Platonic vision of beauty in exquisite poetic lines:

Beauty is truth, truth beauty, – that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.

Beauty is in uniqueness, in extraordinariness, in being exceptional. Similarities become prosaic and monotonous. The Himalayas are beautiful because of its exceptionally lofty grandeur, majesty and magnificence. The Ganges is beautiful because of its unique sanctity associated with it. The Taj Mahal is beautiful because it is a tear drop fashioned out of white marble falling on the cheek of time.

Body beautiful

When we think of the goddesses of beauty, we look at the crop of beauties in Hollywood and Bollywood. These days we have more of ‘hotties’ than beauties. There are any number of spectacularly glamorous ladies floating around in even more spectacular couture — but show us a Vivienne Leigh, an Elizabeth Taylor, a Marilyn Monroe. Bollywood too is no exception. Show us a Nutan, a Vaijayanthimala, a Hema Malini or a Madhuri Dixit.

Most of the leading ladies in Bollywood today are interchangeable — they look the same, dress the same, sound the same, are the same. Their success is determined more by their SQ (Sizzling Quotient) than their acting skills. If they can set the screen on fire with their high voltage looks and seductive movements, they are a hit with the audience. Looks matter, but not real beauty.

But things are different in Japan. The Japanese culture is known for its great sense of beauty. The celebrated writer Nina Epton made an insightful observation about the elegance, grace and simplicity with which the Japanese ladies walk the streets of Japan: “If flowers could walk, they would no doubt walk like Japanese ladies in kimonos, who give the impression that they have been plucked off a stalk and are still a little unsure how to advance.”

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