Today, I’d like to write about beauty. I don’t mean the airbrushed kind that’s plastered all over your Instagram feed. I mean the kind that gets you out of bed in the morning without needing to drown yourself in a sea of overpriced beauty products. The kind of true beauty I’m thinking of involves three things —humility, grace, and diligence. That’s what I like to call the “True Beauty Trio,” though I’m fully aware it sounds like the title of a self-help book nobody asked for at all.
Humility: The Fine Line Between Modesty and Self-Deprecation
Humility, in its purest form, is about not being a pompous ass. It’s about recognizing that you’re not the center of the universe. This doesn’t mean you have to grovel or feign humility in the hopes of fishing for compliments. No, real humility is admitting when you’ve royally screwed up, owning it, and moving on—preferably with some semblance of dignity intact. It’s about doing things for the right reasons, not just to pad your résumé or impress the neighbors.
Grace: The Elusive Art of Not Tripping Over Your Own Feet
Grace is a word that gets tossed around like confetti at a wedding—everyone loves it, but no one really knows what to do with it once it’s out there. Now, you might be thinking, “Is she talking about the kind of grace that makes you float through life like a prima ballerina?” Hardly, my dears. My kind of grace is more like navigating life’s obstacles without face-planting every five seconds—a skill I’m still trying to master, by the way. It’s not like you must be pirouetting through life’s challenges with effortless elegance, though if you can do that, more power to you. It’s about handling situations with a kind of understated finesse, which, let’s face it, most of us only achieve on a really good day.
Diligence: The Sexy Quality You Never Knew You Needed
Diligence is one of those beautiful qualities that doesn’t get nearly enough credit. It’s the “tireless” part of the True Beauty Trio—the unglamorous, unfiltered work that no one sees but everyone benefits from. When I think of personifying Diligence, I think of a person who keeps going, despite everything life throws at them, with a determination that would make even the Energizer Bunny jealous. Now, that’s what I call sexy. Sure, it’s not the kind of sexy that sells perfume, but it’s the kind that keeps relationships, careers, and societies afloat. It’s about working hard, not just because you must, but because you know it’s what will get you through the day. If you can even make the world a slightly better place while you’re at it, all the better.
Confidence: The Icing on the True Beauty Cake
So, what happens when you mix the ingredients of humility, grace, and diligence in just the right proportions? You get confidence—the kind that doesn’t need validation from a comments section or a like button. This confidence doesn’t strut around demanding attention; it simply exists, content in the knowledge that it’s the real deal. It needs no filters, no edits, and no frills. It’s the kind of confidence that doesn’t need to scream for attention because it knows its worth—and that’s something the beauty industry would prefer you never discover.
Now, I’m not saying you’ll achieve enlightenment by embodying the True Beauty Trio. But I am saying that maybe you’ll feel a little more human, a little more grounded, and a lot less like a product of a society that’s constantly trying to sell you a new version of yourself. What if we all did that? Well, we might just start a revolution, hopefully not the kind that requires pitchforks, but the kind that’s fought with small acts of humility, grace, and diligence. Who knows? Maybe we’ll all end up a little more confident and a lot less concerned with what the mirror—or anyone else—has to say.
~ Amelia Desertsong
