Self-love they say
And the selfies go on display!
The phones most prized
For cameras glorified.
In much demand are apps rare
That make you slim and fair.
Encashing on human frailty
Pandering to hubris and vanity
Is the trend of the selfie!
Capturing moments as we are
Or as we wish to be?
Perpetuating an endless cycle of desires!
And, desires are the root cause of suffering!
Filters that change you for the better
Make you softer, fairer –
In keeping with society’s definition of beauty.
Must we succumb to this thought of empty?
Dare we not like ourselves for what we are?
Dare we not accept our outer blemishes
When we have stopped looking at our inner ones.
Why this obsession with the outer self?
Is that not an empty construct of oneself?
Does not self-love include the person within,
The person inside the skin.
Make the selfie for self-love not an excuse
Inculcate self-love with a low threshold for toxic relationships and abuse!
Let not fashion’s passion for vanity
Construct walls between humanity.
Rise above the narrow constricts of discrimination
Above self-punishment and recrimination.
See the wonders within oneself and in one another
For only then can we create a wonderful world.
