Beauty is not about a visual aesthetic, really. Beauty is not something seen; it is felt. A child is not concerned about how they look, but by how they are loved. LOVED! That is what makes us beautiful. Here is a self-revealing moment. I never considered myself pretty or small in stature or slim or anything some say is beautiful. I was short, dirty blond, and all sizes were measured against mine. (bytheway, that is not healthy) I didn't like the shape of my feet, in addition to other complaints about myself. Then I met Seth, who seemed to like me for some reason. Well. It wasn't cause I was beautiful, so it must be something else. For whatever reason, he decided he loved me. He doesn't tell me every day how beautiful I am, or most days for that matter. He once, early on, told me he liked my feet. That was enough. He loves me and he likes my feet, so it must be enough. I believed him. I felt cute, though nothing changed. The more he loves me, or treats me with respect and kindness, the less concern and more assured I feel about the body. That is not say a girl doesn't want someone to say she is beautiful or pretty. A little complimenting can go along way. Imagine how far frequent HONEST compliments will go. But that is a side note. If someone, anyone, loves me or I am busy loving someone else, I forget to fret about cuteness. Just get dressed, then engage yourself. Maybe that's why service does the heart some good. Unselfishly giving enlivens the spirit and beautifies the body, because “The spirit and the body are the soul of man”. Oh lovely. This has been an insightful night as some of my thoughts have come together. I don't really care how I look as long as love abounds somehow.
Thanks for sharing that short clip. Crazy how much she changed from beginning to poster. I thought she was beautiful to begin with. Someone once told me that I made T-shirts look classy. I've thought about that a lot. I know I'm not a "beautiful" woman as far as the world is concerned, but I agree with you. When you're loved and loving, that's not a focus. I hate it when people say, "Hey, you look great. Did you lose weight?" Who cares? Can't we just say "you look wonderful today"? Or something to that affect. Yes, health is important, but everybody has a different body and so it's like everything else. Don't judge what you don't know about. It's back to what you said. Just love people. I love your thoughts on these. It also makes me think about the fact that I didn't think any of the guys I liked as a teenager/college student were "cute" until I liked them. Then I began to see their "beauty." The more I got to know them, the more beautiful they became. Okay. Blah, blah, blah. This is your blog, not mine. :) You're wonderful!
ReplyDeleteEr, clarification, I did (and do) think you're beautiful, amongst many other things. Ok, now that that's cleared up, on with the comments. :)
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