On the inside.

A Mighty Girl is the name of a group on Facebook (and possibly a website too) that is a resource site for the empowerment of girls. They offer books, movies, toys, etc. that focus on strong, confident, and courageous female characters both fictitious and throughout history. About a week ago, I saw this excerpt from Kelly Flanagan focused on beauty, and loved the way he turned around media's word choices into something more meaningful.

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"When you have a daughter, you start to realize she's just as strong as everyone else in the house -- a force to be reckoned with, a soul on fire with the same life and gifts and passions as any man," writes dad and psychologist Kelly Flanagan in a heartfelt letter addressed to his young daughter. "But sitting in this store [makeup] aisle, you also begin to realize most people won't see her that way. They'll see her as a pretty face and a body to enjoy. And they'll tell her she has to look a certain way to have any worth or influence.

But words do have power and maybe, just maybe, the words of a father can begin to compete with the words of the world. Maybe a father's words can deliver his daughter through this gauntlet of institutionalized shame and into a deep, unshakeable sense of her own worthiness and beauty."

Flanagan goes on to give, as he writes, "a radically different meaning" to the words often used in beauty advertisements such as brilliant strength, age-defying, and flawless finish. And, he assures his daughter, "Little One, you love everything pink and frilly and I will surely understand if someday makeup is important to you." However, he appeals to her, "I pray three words will remain more important to you -- the last three words you say every night, when I ask the question: 'Where are you the most beautiful?' Three words so bright no concealer can cover them. Where are you the most beautiful? On the inside."

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The Huffington Post  blog recently published Flanagan's entire article, which I encourage you to read. It's incredible. I wish that every father had these wishes for his daughter(s). That every father had this type of relationship and love for his daughter to have these dreams and desires for her to be strong in these ways.

And truly, even though you are not his daughter, I believe that you can learn from his words. Words that speak truth. Words that encourage you to have brilliant strength, empowerment to dream, to take risks in being vulnerable, have grace for others and yourself, an ageless soul, and big love. It's interesting to think about how different things would be in this world if we had different messages giving powerful suggestions day in and out... suggestions of how things should be, of how we should think or how we should do.

I'd like to think that if we just paused for a moment to consider how much better it would be, and made a decision to be a little kinder to ourselves, then the possibility of making it happen just got that much more real.

Where are you the most beautiful? On the inside.