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What Is the Real Meaning of “Beautiful”?

By Lily Bradshaw November 06, 2024 Mindset

There are many beautiful girls in this world but, alas, I was not one of them. But now, in my 60s, I suddenly find I am! Did an angel come down while I slept and bless me with stunning looks or one of the many miraculous products of beauty companies actually work? Well, not quite…

You see, I have changed the way I view beauty in everyone, and that opens up the possibility of us all being beautiful. I no longer look at cheekbones, face shapes, huge eyes, glossy long hair and all the other attributes that are classed as beautiful, I see the person inside and look at that beauty.

Reframing

And so, with a few tweaks, some thoughtfulness and a little kindness, we can all be beautiful. We can start with how we view people and change the way we perceive others. That person who is often grumpy, might have just lost their job, recently been bereaved, have very little money. Instead of being cross, give them a smile, and maybe a little pat on the back for you.

You can reframe anything that you find difficult, or you don’t enjoy, by looking at it a different way. For example, when I lived in France, I used to get the ferry to England a couple of times a month and it took nine hours. It was so boring and seemed to last forever. One day, I decided to change my perception of the crossing and decided to look at it as a mini cruise. From that day on, it was a pleasure.

Random Acts of Kindness

Being kind to others is a beautiful thing to do and is always a win/win situation. The person you are kind to enjoys it, and you, the giver, feel good by doing it. Isn’t that just lovely! Sometimes, I put £5 into a library book and enjoy thinking someone may open it and be really happy. Of course, it might stay there forever, but I have still had my joy from doing it!

Random acts of kindness don’t have to cost money. It can be something as simple as holding a door open for someone or stopping for a person to cross the road. To me, it is a natural part of every day, and I am rewarded with smiles and happy people. What a payment!

Being Spiritually Beautiful

Of course, as we age, our body will naturally wrinkle and sag a bit, and if we only focus on the way we look, we are going to be disappointed. We are not going to get any younger. But if we put our emphasis on our inner beauty, it can only grow, and we can become even more beautiful.

Imagine, just making a few small changes can have such a positive and beneficial effect on your life! As your beauty radiates from within, people will begin to see the change in you. Not only that, but you will feel good about all the changes that you are experiencing yourself. People will smile at you more. They will say thank you, and they will remember you. How wonderful to make another person’s day!

Miss World Beauty-On-The-Inside

So here we all are in our 60s, and in our own way we can all be stunningly beautiful. Smiling costs nothing and already makes you look more physically beautiful, but if you include a heart full of love, words that make others feel special – and a little kindness – I think we could all be parading for the Miss World Beauty-On-The-Inside Prize.

Being beautiful makes us all feel good. We may not look the same as we did in our 20s, but honestly, I would rather have inner beauty any day. And if we keep it up, we will be beautiful forever. 

That makes me feel very happy!

Please Join the Conversation:

What random acts of kindness do you do? Has someone ever done one for you that really changed your day? How did it make you feel?

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Rosamund

When our eldest daughter was in Infant School she told me often about a really beautiful lady that worked at her school. She told me that I must know who she meant as she was the most beautiful person there. I was clueless. She was talking about a short plump middle aged dinner lady who was well groomed and had well looked after nails varnished in a pale pink. That dinner lady was always cheerful and called my daughter flower. I understood simply beautiful.

lily bradshaw

Hi Rosamund, thanks for joining the conversation.What a beautiful daughter you have to recognise such beauty in others! This is exactly what I mean by inner beauty. Have a lovely day! Lily x

Janice

Such a good reminder of what is truly beautiful ❤️
I had to laugh out loud when an add popped up on selling something that gets rid of wrinkles. Again a reminder that we are bombarded with the idea that there is something wrong with aging. What a laugh I had.

lily bradshaw

Hi Janice, thanks for joining the conversation. I always find it funny when we think animals with wrinkles are gorgeous, but humans not so :). Have a lovely day Lily x

Andrew

What a wonderful philosophy and attitude! This should be a daily reminder for each of us as we leave home in the morning to meet the world. Thank you for this post.

lily bradshaw

Hi Andrew thanks for joining the conversation and your kind words. You seem like you have inner beauty too! Lily x

L Martina Young

My essay, “An Expressive Body: The Beauty of Dancing in Elder Life,“ addresses embodiment of beauty and experiences therein through aesthetic dance movement. https://societyforritualarts.com/coreopsis/autumn-2024-issue/an-expressive-body/

Brenda

I love this perspective! Although we don’t have a say in the fact our bodies will age, expressing inner beauty is something we do have say over. You never know how far reaching the impact can be. Thank you!

lily bradshaw

Hi Brenda, thanks for joining the conversation. You are absolutely right Only a few people on this planet are deemed ‘beautiful’ but we can all be stunningly beautiful, and it doesn’t fade :) Lily x

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The Author

Lily Bradshaw has had an interesting and varied career. Twenty years working as a psychotherapist and part time lecturer, followed by 20 years of writing educational courses. Now she is enjoying semi retirement writing books and articles that interest her, mostly about having fun and enjoying life. She has spent the last 2 years travelling solo.

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