Being able to see what others do

Have you ever noticed that others give you way more compliments then you give yourself?  Do you see the beauty in yourself when you wake up and look in the mirror, or do you think you need to put makeup on before you at least look presentable? Some of the most beautiful people I know would actually look better with a little less makeup covering up their natural beauty.  There are a lot of very pretty people in this world but beautiful is a word that I say when I can truly see they are as equally beautiful inside.

I know when I look in the mirror in the morning my first thoughts are, "gotta ditch these glasses, and hurry and get mascara on!".  I have always hated that I need glasses or contacts to be able to see but there are millions and more who suffer from the same, and I hate that my eyelashes are blonder so they aren't as visible without makeup.  Am I only thinking of a physical attribute when I think of myself being or not being beautiful? YES! I can't even tell you why I feel that way, maybe it's because we all do.  Why don't we focus on us, our true potential, and the inner beauty that makes us who we truly are?  Why is it easier to see another person when they don't feel beautiful and see something amazing? Why are we physically critical of ourselves, or perhaps you are one who picks others apart so you feel better about yourself? 

Have any of you been told you are just as beautiful on the outside as you are on the inside?  That has to be the best compliment I could ever hope to attain, and one I don't give to many people.  I have tried to instill in my children that if you have an inner beauty: one that loves all others, one who is willing to sacrifice for others, one who thinks only the best in who they see, and one who is humble in themselves; that their beauty will be much greater than someone who picks others apart, or looks for the bad in another.  Along with those lines we have to be willing to take a stand when we hear another doing just that.  We should love others and ourselves enough to not stand there and listen when someone is trying to tear apart someone else for the gifts and attributes that they were given.

For a moment I want you to do a visualization.  Close your eyes and think of the most beautiful butterfly as it emerges from it's cocoon.  It has just made a complete transformation.  It knows it's different, but doesn't know that it's beauty is so much greater than when it was the caterpillar eating in hopes to reach a point in its life when it would be able to receive this change.  The butterfly gracefully begins to fly and enjoy a different kind of life. Does it look back and see how far it's come in such a short time? Does it know now the physical beauty it has been given? The butterfly goes about it's life being beautiful but it isn't the physical beauty that makes it stand out, it's the fact that all along its beauty inside was waiting to emerge. Was its transformation easy, no! It takes quite some time for a butterfly to emerge, and without that struggle the butterfly would never fly.

We too can receive a similar change. Will it be easy and quick, NO! Will it be worth it, DEFINITELY YES !  When we accept who we are, when we love ourselves and all others, when we can humbly say our best is perfect for us, when we are willing to give to others less fortunate, when we can stand for those who aren't treated well, then we can finally take hold of the change and be willing to fight the struggle that will help us emerge as the beautiful butterfly. My challenge is to let the change begin to happen.  Each of us has a different journey, mine is a personal change that will happen when I accept me for the beauty I can not see in myself.  Our physical beauty will emerge when we become beautiful inside.  When we are truly ourselves we are Be-YOU-tiful.