The last few years – everyone who’s known me awhile has commented on how I am looking gorgeous, a lot more radiant, and kep asking what the reason was or if i was doing something different – diet, workout etc.. All I told them was “I am happy, at peace” …
There is something almost magical about a person who is genuinely happy.
You can see it before they say a word.
The eyes look brighter. The face softens. There is an ease in the way they move, laugh, speak, even sit. Somehow, they seem to take up space differently.
We talk so much about glow-ups — better skin, better hair, losing weight, dressing differently. But I think there is another kind of glow-up, one that begins much deeper.
The kind that happens when you heal.
I know this because I have seen the difference in myself.
Moving out of Chennai, away from family and the life I had always known, changed something in me. It wasn’t an overnight transformation. There were difficult years, messy emotions and a lot of unlearning. But somewhere along the way, I began building a life that felt like mine.
A life with Partha. A home filled with the chaos and unconditional love of Chewy and Haseena. A life with books, writing, travel, good food, music, conversations, little adventures and the freedom to choose what brings me JOY — and, just as importantly, what gives me peace of mind.
It isn’t a perfect life. But it is a life I have consciously built for myself.
And somewhere in that process, healing happened too.
Healing changes you in ways you don’t always notice immediately. It changes the way you speak to yourself. The things you tolerate. The boundaries you set. The way you walk into a room. The way you look at yourself in the mirror.
You slowly stop needing everyone to understand you.
You stop explaining every choice.
You stop chasing approval.
You realise that not everyone has to like you, agree with you or validate your existence for you to feel secure in who you are.
And that does something to you.
It builds a quiet kind of confidence. Not the loud, look-at-me kind, but the deeply rooted kind that comes from knowing yourself and being at peace with the person you’ve become.
And yes, I think that shows on the outside too.
The face softens. The eyes become brighter. The shoulders aren’t carrying quite as much weight. There is an ease in your expression because you aren’t constantly fighting yourself anymore.
The opposite is true too. Stress, sadness, resentment and constant worry have a way of settling into the body. You can put on makeup, dress up and smile for a photograph, but the body has its own language.
For example- Few days back, a good friend shared a picture from 2011, where I was dressed up and ready to go for a wedding/reception. I couldn’t recognise myself, I thought I looked scary, much bigger [ body] and just not ME… When I shared this with her, she said machi, that is just on the outside, on the inside you have always been loving caring person as you are today. This had me pause and relook at myself. Yes, my character/traits haven’t changed just cos my outward appearance altered, transformed and all this was thanks to my healing journey…
Perhaps that’s why some people become more beautiful as they grow older. Not because they haven’t changed, but because they have.
They have healed. Let go. Grown into themselves. Found their voice. Found their boundaries. Found their peace.
And perhaps that is the most beautiful glow of all.
Because the real glow-up was never about becoming someone else.
It was about coming home to yourself.
And when you finally do, you don’t need anyone else to tell you that you look good.
You feel it. And somehow, the whole world can see it too..
