The Beautiful You

We place great emphasis on a narrow idea of physical beauty.

In an American history discussion group, the professor was trying to
explain how, throughout history, the concept of “beauty” changes with
time. “For example,” he said, “take the 1921 Miss America. She stood
five-foot-one inch tall, weighed 108 pounds and sported a 30-inch
bust, a 25-inch waist and 32-inch hips. How do you think she’d do in
today’s version of the contest?”

The class fell silent for a moment. Then one student piped up, “Not
very well.”

“Why is that?” asked the professor.

“For one thing,” the student pointed out, “she’d be way too old.”

Good point -- she’d be way too old. But beauty is a peculiar thing,
for it means something a little different to each of us. And it isn’t
always about appearance. Sometimes beauty is a quality that softly
shines from inner depths. And you may actually radiate more inner
beauty than you realize.

An elderly woman noticed that her granddaughter felt embarrassed by
her freckles. “I love your freckles,” she said, kneeling beside the
girl and admiring her face.

“Not me,” the child replied.

“Well, when I was a little girl I always wanted freckles,” the
grandmother said, tracing her finger across the child’s cheek.
“Freckles are beautiful.”

The girl looked up. “Really?”

“Of course,” said her grandmother. “Why just name one thing that’s
prettier than freckles.”

The little girl peered into the old woman’s smiling face, aglow with
kindness and love. “Wrinkles,” she answered softly.

The physical beauty of youth will fade. But the beauty of a spirit,
when nurtured, can grow forever.

__________

Steve Goodier [email protected] is a professional
speaker, consultant and author of numerous books. Visit his site for
more information, or to sign up for his FREE newsletter of Life, Love
and Laughter at http://LifeSupportSystem.com.