What Is the Real Meaning of “Beautiful”?
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?
Tags Positivity
I totally agree! Sharing kindness, joy, and love in one’s life shows on the face and is beautiful. A genuine smile helps!
I do have a little pet peeve though. Parents who share 15 photos of their daughters dressed up for prom in revealing outfits most suited for a pole dancer, and receive 75 comments all focused on her beauty, seem to me to be focused on the wrong things for their girl. Same goes for the ones who dump 35 photos of their daughters dressed is 6 different ensembles (ranging from “country girl” to “vamp”) celebrating her high school graduation on social media. The ensuing comments ALL complimenting her physical beauty are missing the opportunity to celebrate her dedication, work ethic, or whatever meaningful part of her that could mean a lot more. Ok, rant over!
Hi Joan, thanks for joining the conversation. You are very entitled to ‘rant’ and I totally get what you are saying. We are the generation of making things happen and perhaps we are the ones who can start inner beauty being so much more than outer beauty! Lily x
My kids and grandkids know I think they are great looking, but I try to focus on their attitudes in life more – things they can help or improve on. By the way, you have a very lovely and sweet face – I think when you were younger you were wrong, or maybe your hair didn’t flatter your face shape or something. I would love to see a picture! I thought I was homely, but when I look back I think I was pretty, at least in some pictures, at some ages. But aren’t we our own harshest critics?
Hi Carol, thanks for joining the conversation. Thank you so much for your kind words.
What a wonderful way to be with your grandchildren, lucky them! I guess everyone likes to feel attractive but in reality, however externally beautiful you are, it fades as we age. Inner beauty is the opposite, the older we get the more beautiful we can become! Lily x