B is for Beautiful

Beautiful

Having beauty; possessing qualities that give great pleasure or satisfaction to see, hear, think about, etc.; delighting the senses or mind, excellent of its kind

What does beautiful mean to you? To me it can mean so many things.  A cry from a baby is beautiful when they are born in distress.  Watching two puppies roll and around and play in the yard is beautiful.  Watching an eagle sore high in the sky is beautiful.

What I struggle with the most is reminding myself that I am beautiful. When I look at myself I see sagging skin on my face that is giving me little puppy jowls, wrinkled eyes that no longer see without glasses, a belly that just sort of wobbles there with no support.  Thighs that dance to their own drummer, and let's not even think about my behind that has a mind of its own as I walk down the street.

But you know what?  That sagging skin on my face gives me character, it shows that I am wise, and that I have lived through many struggles, those eyes that no longer see without glasses witnessed the birth of two little boys who mean the world to me.  That belly that wobbles around?  Well it stretched to enormous proportions and turned itself into a temporary home for two beautiful children for me. Those thighs and behind?  Well they come from the many beautiful pizzas, rolls, cakes, cookies and potato chips we have the pleasure of being able to eat.

No matter how we feel about ourselves, there is someone that thinks we are the most beautiful person in the world.  Because they see our beauty as a whole. They don't look at our wrinkles. They look at the joy we as a person bring to their life and their world.  

I am beautiful because I provide joy for many and I am of good character.  My spirit is beautiful, my love for others is beautiful, my compassion is beautiful and sometimes more than I can bear.  These are the pieces of me that matter.

These are the things I need to focus on each day as I apply my wrinkle cream and cover up and as I squish my tummy, thighs and bottom into those ridiculous skinny jeans we're almost forced into wearing.  Have you shopped for jeans lately?  I may use Jeans as my J word.

Beauty or being beautiful is not what the masses are seeing on TV and magazines, it is every piece of who we are as a person.  Today I will strive to think of myself as beautiful, because I am not the wrinkles or jiggles or jowls.  I am loving, kind, courageous and brave, this is what makes me beautiful.