YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE!

Life is a giant universe hidden in four tiny letters.
Life is that answer we seek throughout, until death questions us.
Life is every breath a soul takes behind the mortal body.
Life is an emotion which the stoic cannot comprehend.

But as they say, ‘to each his own’, our understanding of life is just as different as our fingerprints and having such intricacies is what makes it distinct and worth giving a shot. For some people work is life; for others, love is. Some realise they are here for a purpose and make it their passion; while some are too busy living it that they eventually forget the initial purpose they started for. However, every person has one common goal for their lives; to make it beautiful through deeds of goodness for self and others.

Today is the National Making Life Beautiful Day, as clichéd as it sounds; our lives are the paramount legacy that deserves to be put on the highest pedestal. And to commemorate the day, we spoke to Amanda Stewart, marketing manager of Apriori Beauty, a skincare product brand in the United States. She told us that ‘Making Life Beautiful’ was an initiative of the co-owners of the brand, Susan Twellman and Elizabeth Vervynck.

Co-owners of Apriori Beauty Susan Twellman and Elizabeth Vervynck

In honour of June 11th, which is also the brand’s product anniversary, they wanted to create awareness of Making Life Beautiful through ‘Random Acts of Beauty’. One small positive action has the power to leave a lasting effect on someone’s life.

One ponders over the irony; how can a cosmetics and skincare brand propagate otherwise, i.e. only the uncomplicated and simple can make life beautiful. To this, Amanda Stewart said, “True beauty isn’t something you buy, but rather comes from within. We’ve seen people who’ve come to us with acne, age spots, etc. and felt horrible about themselves because when they looked in the mirror, they didn’t see a beautiful person, but rather just flaws in their skin. After using our skincare products and seeing their skin improved, there was a visible difference in their personality. Whereas they were just as beautiful as before. They were confident, and more importantly, happy. You see, we didn’t make them beautiful because they were beautiful to begin with, but now they felt that they are beautiful. To sum it up, beauty is different things to different people, but for everyone, it’s an emotion derived from positive actions.”

For Amanda, a beautiful and productive life is not comprised of one single item, rather a multitude of things comprised together and that means making sure she is taking care of herself and others.

She said, “So often (women especially), we’re so focused on the needs and happiness of others that we forget about ourselves. Yes, our lives are busy, but that doesn’t mean we can’t squeeze in an hour, here or there, to focus on what we truly need. For me, it starts with getting in a good workout session. Exercising is so much more than about losing weight and staying toned. It’s about focusing on yourself and nothing else for one straight hour, it’s about increasing those awesome endorphins, and most importantly, it’s about keeping you healthy, both mentally and physically.”

We went on the streets to ask random people what they did to make their lives beautiful. Their answers might have something in store for you.

Lipica Buttan said, “I believe the greatest gift we as humans have is life. I live every moment to its fullest, cherish it so that when I look back I know I have had a great day, a great month, a great year, a decade and a great life. I never doubt myself; I feel I am magic and was not created for nothing. I set goals, strive to achieve them, stay humble and believe in myself.”

Abhishek Sharma makes his life beautiful by making his mother happier today than she was yesterday. He said, “I try to find short term cravings of my maa. Whenever I get time, I like to surprise her. Her smiles give me all the joy there is and that make my life beautiful. Even my long term goal is to eventually make her feel happy and content.”

Anusha Arora, who is still in her teens, didn’t talk like one when she told us about her perspective on life. She said, “If you ask me, life is a way of measuring one’s time-span here on Earth. Maybe it was constructed to act as a collection of all deeds we perform here; a way to measure our worth as human beings. My life gets beautiful with the limited people that I enjoy being with. Being an introvert, I like to put up walls due to infinite assumptions people make and those who are brave enough to break those walls make me happy and my life beautiful and I try making theirs too. Also, dance is what makes me feel beautiful, always.”

Parth Arora, a young entrepreneur said, “I am a backpacker. I carry a few books with me and spend time with nature whenever I am travelling. I love to explore the beauty in small things that many don’t appreciate. I spend equal time with my family and friends and see life in a mesmerising way. I help people and spread humanity, donate as much as I can and be delicate to things that need sensitivity.”

Niti Mahendru feels that life is a movie and God, its director. She said, “We all are actors but how and what we act is the result of His decisions. I take life as I like it; no rules, no regulations. My people make it beautiful for me and seeing them every now and then makes me feel content.”

You see there? Each one of us has that element of gratitude for this life and realize that we co-exist with other human beings too. So, why not live it together and beautifully if we have to live it anyway?

Imagine what would happen if everyone made a single act of kindness for someone else – we would probably see a lot more happy people and less anger and sadness. It doesn’t take much to do something nice for someone else and what’s even better is that the effect is incredibly powerful.

A very happy Making Life Beautiful Day to you.
Oh, and a small reminder: the person reading this is beautiful!