By Takiya Smith

At some point in time many of us have heard or even chanted this duel worded phrase from the ever so popular childhood Disney movie “Sleeping Beauty”. As a child and to be honest, not so long ago, I can recall, most recently, watching the Evil Queen, bellow out her demands upon the mirror to know “who is the fairest of them all?” Now, as we most know, the story goes on to share and have the “Mirror” reveal that Snow White was the fairest and most beautiful of all....but let’s leave the whimsical forest, sit tight in the castle and  take a minute to see things from the Evil Queens perspective. I mean, what was her deal anyway? Did she really need to be told that she was beautiful every single day by a normally inanimate but now talking object? Or was she just an ego-boosting seeker at heart knowing that she was already beautiful yet needing others to say it?

Here is how I equate and relate modern day, real world to fairy tale make believe: In this day and age, everything about being beautiful, like the Evil Queen, is seeking to build you up or break you down with comparisons to less being more, more being less, enough being too much and too much not being enough. Well, with all the hidden innuendos how in the world would one recognize to know what true beauty is? The poor Queen seemed to need some sort of pat on the back or a confidence boosting compliment just to  understand who she even was!

Yet, the undiscovered and underlying theme to my rant this week is simply that she did not. She was Queen over all the land, she was the ruler of her castle and heir to her very own throne. No matter how she had acquired her position and regardless of the length and duration of her reign, it was hers! Sadly, she failed to own that. Instead, she chose to spend out her days obsessing over the words of a mirror that foretold of another’s beauty instead of looking deeper into what was already hers.

The heart can be a mirror which speaks directly to and about us, for the the Bible says “for as he thinketh in his heart, so is he” - Proverbs 23:7 KJV. What’s in your heart about yourself to today? Or are you like the Queen,so busy about and concerned with the thoughts, actions and words of others...so much so that you can’t see who you truly, truly are? Well, no wonder so many of us are still waiting on our happily ever after. We are seeking and searching in all the wrong places. Know now that it begins and ends with you.

<em>Takiya La’Shaune Smith is a the founding owner of both Beautique Lash &amp; Brow and The Brow Company Beauty Bar &amp; Makeup Studio. She is a published author and mentor as well as a Licensed Cosmetology Instructor and International Beauty Educator utilizing her experience in the industry as a platform to promote inner and outer beauty, health, wellness, social etiquette and positive self-esteem. Find, follow or contact her at www.blb-boutiques.com.</em>