Thursday, July 28, 2011

Beautiful You

I have been trying to decide for a few weeks what I should write about. There are a few topics that I would like to talk about but I am still ruminating on them at this point. Beauty is one I have been thinking about for some time. The picture I used is one of my cousin, Kristin, who is undoubtedly a beautiful girl. So are all her sisters. I never look at any of them without being struck by how beautiful they all are. Part of her and her sisters' beauty lies within them. They are fun, sweet, funny and lovely girls. This, as much or more, contributes to their beauty to me as their physical appearance.

They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder and I suppose that must be true but I tend to behold a lot of beauty in a lot of people that, if you asked them, would say they are not beautiful and might even call themselves ugly. I have found that if you really look at people carefully, there is often something beautiful about each person. It took me some time but the day I woke up and really looked at my friend, John, I saw the diamond that was there. Now I am married to the handsomest man in the world. When he looks at me with his deep blue eyes all crinkled at the corners because he is smiling down at me, I know I am looking at the most beautiful man in the whole world.

A lot of Hollywood consists of people that are thought of as "beautiful" and if you were going on appearance alone, I suppose you would have to admit that many movie stars are very attractive. I don't know any of them personally and so, I have to say, that their beauty eludes me somewhat. I think you find beauty where you look for it and not just based on a person's appearance.

I have a lot of friends and every single one of them is so very beautiful to me. Some of them if you were to pass them on the street, you would not perhaps see how beautiful they are if you were just looking at their appearance but, if you took the time to get to know them, they would leave you with the impression of great loveliness.

Many of my friends have something beautiful about them that you might miss if you were just looking for "perfect" beauty. Vicki and Jane have gorgeous eyes and expressive mouths. Lisa has the prettiest hands and feet. Jan, when she laughs, is so exquisite. Laura, Angela and Kristin have great figures and can wear anything and look fantastic. Liz has a Texan drawl and throaty voice that melts you. Muriel has the most beautiful hair. If Elfie smiles at you, you feel the urge to give her the world. When Lissa is enthusiastic about something, she could be Miss America.

I realize that partly I find these girls attractive because I love them but I have found that if I really look at people I don't even know I can often still find something beautiful about them. This morning a lady smiled at me as we passed each other. She had a great smile. When the guy in front of me in line at Starbucks extolled the virtues of his smart phone to me I noticed he had really earnest and intense blue eyes. The girl across from me on the train last night had a mane of curly black brown hair and such an amazing complexion. If I hadn't been looking for it, I might have missed their beauty. I hope the people that love them see what I saw.

Next time you look at a person (yourself included), have a good look for the beautiful. If you are having trouble seeing it, ask someone that loves you what about you they find beautiful. If you know me, ask me and I will tell you because I promise you, I've noticed something about you that is beautiful and just haven't had the chance to tell you yet. The ugly in life sticks out so much that sometimes, it is all we see. Look for the beautiful, it is there too.