March 15th, 2007

Smitten With Self


photo credit: ginger

When man found the mirror, he began to lose his soul. (Anonymous, via Quoty)

Such a simple statement conveys a very profound principle. Our decadent society has become wholly self-indulgent and all too focused on the image of self.

This trend is not without its associated consequences:

I am convinced by a vast amount of research that the images, fantasies, and models which we are repeatedly exposed to in advertisements, entertainment, novels, motion pictures, and other works of art can and do … affect the self-image and, later, the behavior of nearly all young people and adults too. (Victor B. Cline, via Quoty)

Susan Tanner commented on what she sees as a troubling practice of “making over” what is deemed socially unacceptable:

I am troubled by the practice of extreme makeovers. Happiness comes from accepting the bodies we have been given as divine gifts and enhancing our natural attributes, not from remaking our bodies after the image of the world. The Lord wants us to be made over—but in His image, not in the image of the world, by receiving His image in our countenances (see Alma 5:14, 19). (via Quoty)

Are we fostering such a materialistic, superficial view of our bodies and images by patronizing and supporting related TV shows, magazines, and department stores that tout beauty as something that can be bought?

What garbage.

Read quotes about “self” on Quoty
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