Cosmetic surgery's dark side

With the surge of people racing to cosmetic surgeons for liposuction, tummy tucks, botox injections and a myriad of other surgical and nonsurgical procedures to alter their bodily appearance, it’s heartening to find one articulate voice warning people to think twice before proceeding.

Alex Luczynski, 38, a reporter at the New York Times, and author of “Beauty Junkies,” has “been there done that,” when it comes to nips, tucks and botox. Speaking from ten years of miserable experience, she exposes many of the myths surrounding cosmetic enhancement in her book and questions whether the pursuit of beauty through physical alteration is really worth it.

In an interview with Janet Kornblum for USA Today, she is quoted as saying

“…I hope to never have surgery again…I feel just nauseous and sad that I spent 10 years of my life dyeing my hair blond. I regret having liposuction because it was a small amount of fat and it hurt a lot. And I really still feel guilty about the money I spent…I feel bad about having spent thousands of dollars on Botox over the last 10 years."

Barbara Liss, in a review of “Beauty Junkies,” wrote,

“Kuczynski has artfully tapped into the zeitgeist, showing us that our preoccupation with looking young has become something of a Frankenstein monster.”

These days, thousands of teenage girls, in striving to live up to Hollywood star ideals and runway model figures, seek out cosmetic procedures to presumably make themselves look better.

Is it time to think more deeply about what constitutes true beauty? Many wonder.

"Beauty, as well as truth, is eternal; but the beauty of material things passes away, fading and fleeting as mortal belief."

"Beauty is a thing of life, which dwells forever in the eternal Mind and reflects the charms of His goodness in expression, form, outline, and color." Mary Baker Eddy

Some of the most beautiful people I know have gray hair and wrinkles. And those creases in the skin mean nothing to the people who love them and value their friendship.

Is the true “…expression, form, outline, and color” of God’s creation in skin condition, buttock heft, and tummy size? Or is it the finer things of Soul manifest in spiritual joy, self-worth, contentment and self-respect?

I can't help but remember that God made each of us beautiful in our own unique way. Perhaps its time to honor and value the divine individuality we’ve already been blessed with and lose the fear that we need to be something physically different to be happy with ourselves.

It’s a lot easier on the pocketbook, and the long term side effects are all healthy.