Beauty

 

"Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

I shared this quote on my FB fan page yesterday. It suggests that beauty lies within and as I was thinking about it again this morning, the thought of "beauty lies with the beholder"came to mind. Both of which are absolutely true. What I deem beautiful may be totally opposite of what you think is beautiful. I happen to be a huge Chili Peppers fan and the lyrics to "Around the World" came to mind as well.

I know, I know for sure
That life is beautiful around the world
I know, I know it's you
You say, "hello" and I say, "I do"
 (The video is here if you want!)

J. Lamb 2011

I think it is impossible to find true beauty without finding it within yourself. Of course this statement comes from someone who appreciates beauty in all things, blame it on a creative background. I love to take pictures of interesting things. I love color and interest in all things. When you stop focusing on what everyone else thinks is attractive, you can really see beauty in everything. Even in a bed of weeds.

Find beauty within as well. I have done so many things wrong in my life, hurt people I love, hurt myself more. I still don't do everything right and make the same mistakes over and over again. I was so hard on myself for so long, let people treat me badly, didn't stand up for me. I didn't feel beautiful inside or out. I am a tad cynical and a realist though. I know there are many more people who better looking than me, smarter and better put together than me too, but I can't let that stop me from shining my brightest for me and me alone. As a parent you find yourself doing everything for everyone else and you end up last every time. You want to do something for yourself, but feel guilty for wanting more. Don't. You can't spend your life standing around hoping that someone will ride up on a white horse and make all your dreams come true, it just ain't gonna happen! You are in charge of your own happiness and give yourself permission to be happy and beautiful within. It's okay, really. I imagine my kids looking back and thinking, "Mom was firm and loving and showed it's okay to be the very best me possible."

We have a saying in our house:

I just want you to be the very best (insert name) possible.

I never knew I was really smart or talented or even good looking. It never occurred to me that I shouldn't be worried about what anyone else thought or whether they liked me or not. I just didn't think I could do anything and was so scared to fail, I didn't try. I've missed out on so many things and experiences and because of it, I feel like I'm in a constant holding pattern. There are so many things I wish I could do now, but I have other obligations (and that's okay). I learned to love myself, but it took a really long time and it isn't an exact science either. Constant tweaking and reminding are needed.

Okay, I'm rambling (shocking, I know!), I just want to encourage everyone to take a minute to find beauty in something not considered beautiful. Then I want you to find something beautiful within yourself. Let's see, for me today it's the beautiful azure sky above my ugly wall and waste high weeds in my backyard. In me, I think my ability to accept people for exactly who they are is beautiful. How about you?