Natural Beauty

Do you ever feel like you aren't the person you want to be?  I've spent much of my life being insecure about who I am, what my style is or isn't, what image I portray, what I spend my free time doing, etc...  I can think of very few but specific times in my life when I haven't had this problem and I remember how good it felt, how confident I was.
I suppose we all change and we are not always what we appear to be.  This is evident in the people we immediately envy based on their outward appearance and then later realize they are severely lacking in what we imagined was substance.
What I sometimes catch myself forgetting, is that the outside is only one layer and a superficial one at that.  Life's beauty is far deeper and it is naturally occurring.  The times when I have been most confident in my life may have been colored by a nice pair of hiking sandals, a great hair cut, a new kitchen accessory :).  But it's base is grounded in the people I've surrounded myself with, the projects I've been working on, and the hobbies I've let myself indulge in.  To hold onto those things, to remain grounded and fulfilled in life is a great achievement.  Not only do I need to strive to reach this in myself, but I also need to strive to find a community filled with people who are grounded in such a wealth of natural beauty and light and passion for life.  Step by step.  Day by day.  Life is a process and we all must immerse ourselves in making that process more beautiful and more meaningful.