DEAF, YOUNG AND BLIND

I was indeed a beauty—tall, slender, and gorgeous.  What a regret I never enjoyed it. A childhood with a vain, self-occupied mother did not reassure me like a mother should and I never felt beautiful.  It never crossed my mind that the people on the street who turned and stared at me were admiring my beauty.  I always assumed that they saw an odd creature, too tall, too thin, too plain.

It wasn’t until the beauty slipped away, the eyes puffy, crease in the face, lines around the mouth, that I began to observe old photos and I thought, “Wow, I was really beautiful”.

Now I am 58, yet I am more beautiful than the gorgeous creature who struggled unaware through the earlier years.

I have forgiven those responsible for my uneducated upbringing. I have survived being jobless.  I have survived a divorce. I have survived being a single parent. I have survived cancer. 

I am quiet and peaceful inside. Anger no longer erupts in the four corners of my Soul.  I am content to embrace the good in my present moments. I have food to eat, a roof over my head, friends, the smell of fresh air, and much kindness to give.

I have come to accept my life, accept myself, harmonize with life coming at me. I have come to unite with my inner journey.

And that’s beautiful!!!!

– RACHEL, Piedmont Province, Alabama

PAIN

I am full of life. Not all times though. Despite the chronic everyday pain that I live with, my friends see light surrounding me. Their ability to witness this iridescent Light within me through our friendship feeds my happiness.  Feed my Soul. And the moments we are together, and I am happy. Happiness eclipses my pain, and I feel beautiful.  I am thankful for the beautiful friendships.

– ANAMIKA, The Rockies, Colorado

THE BEAUTY WITHIN MY BODY

Is not measured by the size of my clothes I can fit in.

It is not measured by the insecurity of my self-esteem.

It is not measured by the stares that I received from other judgments of me.

It is not measured by what the public think or expect of me.

Beauty is measured by the love in my heart to raise my newborn son, this precious extension of me, this precious little Soul.

The beauty in my body creates miracles, LIFE. And that’s Beautiful!

– HEATHER, The Basin, Wyoming

MY SOUL IS FULL OF MAGIC

Centuries ago, I was born in the hottest part of the planet.  Embraced by my mother’s love, grounded in my father’s strength. Loved my childhood joys. Then searched for my identity. Traveled abroad. Yearned for Mr. Right. Got married. Mothered a darling baby. Suffered the pain and faced the agony of her early death.  A mother’s love gone astray. And now, words cannot describe.

– SHERREE, Great Plains, Texas

I WAS NEVER BEAUTIFUL AS A CHILD

I had a head full of matted black hair. My parents didn’t pay much attention to what I looked like, survival was the focus during that time. When there were extra pennies around, I would accompany my uncles to the barbershop to get the same haircut as they got. The kids around would tease me about whether I was a girl or a boy. It grew into an image problem within myself, I did not feel beautiful.

One day I encountered a woman who was a playmate of my son. The woman was wheeling a baby carriage. The woman happened to remember me as she was a playmate of my son decades ago. She reminded me of one Christmas when I had been baking cookies at that time for her and my son. During that time when I was baking cookies she had asked me why I had bothered to put the icing heart on one of the cookies that had come out crooked, and why I hadn’t thrown it away. I had instinctively answered: “Because we should love things that are not perfect.”  The woman shared with me how she thought of my words when her newborn child was born with a deformity. Then the woman kissed me as tears glazed in her eyes. Both of us embrace, tearfully. Now whenever I look in the mirror, no matter what I see, I think of the woman and her son, and I know I am Beautiful.

– ANNIKA, Upper Peninsula Michigan

40^th BIRTHDAY

I was told that I would enjoy my thirties. And now my 40’s will be the “knowing beauty”. The phrase sat with me for years until now.  Now I understand life at this stage means a life of experiences, good, bad, and indifferent. Beauty comes from loving and being loved.

My beauty is enhanced when I sink into the moment and relax. When I am kind to myself. When I am non-judgmental to myself. Most of all, beauty is not just skin deep, it transcends beyond. My Spirit is Beautiful.

– CHARLENE, Northern California