Dear Yokasta,

Like a loving mother, a loving father's heart's desire and prayer to God is that each of his children will remain perfectly healthy while growing in love, gaining in wisdom, and living life to the fullest. In other words, we not only want the best for our children, but the absolute best for them in all aspects and dimensions of life.

Yet, we know that this isn't a perfect world. So, our children are bound to meet their fair share of challenges, adversity, trials, and tribulations. Thus, we also pray that, regardless of what comes their way, they will always maintain their dignity and self-respect, be empathetic and just in their dealings with others, strive to be a positive presence in our world, raise themselves far above self-pity, self-loathing, and self-destruction, and not settle for anything less than honesty, genuine friendship, and mutual adoration and passion in their most intimate relationships.

Finally, had he the opportunity, your "biggest supporter" and "bestest friend in the whole world" would have declared a visceral amen to this life-changing "beauty tip" that I've shared with my daughters in many ways on more than one occasion: Not only is "beauty is in the eyes of the beholder," but it's more important that you also behold your own beauty regardless of what others' eyes may see.

So-called standards of beauty are subject to shift with the winds of social change; and, even worst, these specious standards are constantly used to bludgeon masses of human beings into objectifying their bodies, hating themselves, and emptying their bank accounts.

Indeed, it's such an ugly thing that's done with beauty in our world that the only way a person can consistently maintain their self-confidence and self-respect is through unyielding self-acceptance.

Love yourself and you will have taken the first step, indeed the greatest step, to experiencing true love to fullest extent humanly possible.

Sincerely,

richard jones (iAMrj)
"The proudest father in the whole wide world!"