Who doesn't know the Mona Lisa? I'm certain even the pygmies in the depths of the dense Congo jungle have heard of it, if not seen a likeness of it.
Leonardo da Vinci's work has captured the minds of art lovers and the ordinary person alike. It has got to be the most edited and reproduced piece of artwork around the world.
There is just something about her peaceful gaze, the barely there smile as if she knows something that you would be dying to know. If you leaned in closer she just might whisper it to you.
It turns out that not everyone leans in to hear the murmurs of centuries long past. A group of art analysts, I was quite devastated to read, decided to analyze the art piece with magnifying apparatus and x-rays only to share the very enlightening and absolutely unnecessary information that the lady who is Mona Lisa was most probably toothless!
Her mysterious smile was likely as a result of embarrassment over her gappy gums.
Why deface something so beautiful with their findings? I'm sure the earths orbit wouldn't have been disrupted had we not been privy to that piece of information.
I'm sorry if I have also, in sharing my findings, shattered your perceptions of Mona Lisa. If it is any consolation, I still find her beautiful and serene.
All of this just made me think of how we really shouldn't allow what people think of us change the view we have of ourselves unless it is for the better.
Something as famous as the Mona Lisa is being considered, on the one hand, as a masterpiece and on the other as a being flawed and hiding of imperfection.
So what if the lady pictured was toothless? Heck, she could have been sitting in a prototype Da Vinci wheelchair for all we know! Who cares?
What matters is that one of the most famous artists in the world captured a moment in her life and immortalized it.
If you insist on looking at everything over-critically and through a magnifying glass, its inevitable, you will find flaws and imperfections.
The same goes for putting the weight of your beauty and happiness in someone else's scales. You can't expect a perfect reading.
Not everyone's measurement is a true reflection of who we are. It is merely their estimate.
You are a masterpiece in your own right. Flaws and all. Embrace it. You will have fans and critics alike, all that concerns you is that you be the most original version of yourself.
