Beauty

I was asked what I find beautiful, What i would want my legacy to be... this is in response to that simple yet totally complex question

Beauty legacy

The beauty legacy I would like to leave for my further daughters and / or sons

Beauty or rather true beauty (not the stuff they sell in magazines, or on commercials) is not found in numbers on a scale or in sizes on tags, it is not counted like calories or applied with makeup.

True beauty doesn’t come in bottle or smell like a celebrity, it is not shade of color or hint of fabric, it is not a surgery, or latest fad. It is not a diet or a pill. It is not found on the one doctor’s TV show or in between the glossy margins on a high dollar fashion catalog.

True beauty in found in the mirror of a mother that has worked the midnight shift with a sick baby, it is the calloused hands of a man who digs wells in the Africa, it is the sweated brow of a young girl mastering her fears and succeeding, if only to vanquish her own demons. It is in every step we made towards healing and away from pain and hurt. It is in every prayer, every song, and every time we choose to stand and not to hide.  

True beauty is kindness shown for no reason but a smile; it is standing in the way of injustice and persecution and saying not today, it is in a giggle or a deep belly laugh. It is in a home cooked meal delivered to a grieving family. It is the way you rock your child to sleep, the way your partner dries your eyes. The feet that marched for freedom, the bruised bodies that took a beating for our rights and progress. It is the time someone offers other person, even when they would rather not. It is a sacrifices that a good parent makes from their children. It is forgiveness. It is wine and chocolate and light nights laughing with good friends. It is a case of beers and a knowing nod. It is phones calls and coffee dates.

True beauty is not a shape, it is not a new pair of designer pumps, it is not that weak. It is a woman standing up for her beliefs, a man realizing that his true strength is his compassion as much as his muscles; it is a child realizing that they can be whatever they dream.

True beauty scares the world because the world can’t bottle it up and sell it, it cannot be brought for a price, but it’s so easy to find for those who look.  

True beauty is found in all sizes, all people, and races and creeds. True beauty is found is scars and clogged pores, in dirt houses and sometimes in mansions (although in my experience oftener in the former than the latter). It is in smelly pages of old books and the helping hands of strangers. It is the faith soaked tears of saints and tearful prayer of sinners. It is in our accomplishments and failures; it is in our pains and passions. It is the way we love, the way we seek knowledge and strive towards progress. It is written in our souls and flare up in our artistic skills. It is Love. It is patience. It is at our cores.

We are told that beauty is something to work towards, to stand on our tippy toes and stretch for, and I agree, but no amount of miles jogged or sit up done will reach your soul. (Although studies have found a healthy body helps the soul) We are all so beautiful, we are all chosen and created to shine and be a light.

The next time you or I look in the mirror, we should see love, we should see loved. We are loved. God, the holy of holies, the king, the father, the ruler or the world, looks down and doesn’t see a shape or size, God sees you. And it was good. He loves us. What’s stopping us from loving?  For Love is the truest form of beauty.  Find your love. Find your beauty.  

This is what I would like my future sons and daughters to know. This is what if I show and teach in my short time on this earth I will be truly satisfied.  If I am able to stand before God one day and all I have done is teach the world to love a little more, just a drop more, and to see that that love is God’s. Then I would consider my time here a success.  

Reviews

[Melliflower]

I've always had an issue with self acceptance. This piece of writing speaks lengths to me because it feels like a reminder that we are loved, and we are full of love. We are all so much more than just a size or a shape. "Love is the truest form of beauty". This reminds me that i'm far more than the make up shielding my eyes or the number on the scales. No matter what size i am, or what shape i am, he loves me exactly the way i am. To each even just one person to love more, is such a large achievement because that one person will then go one to teach another person, who may then teach one, or two, or three, spreading like wildfire! Wonderfully.

[Suzy Hazelwood]

I agree so much with this Crystal!♥ True beauty is never what the magazines, the movies or adverts tell us it is, and for me it has never been about the way people look. There's nothing wrong with admiring someone or something on looks, but to satisfy our souls, to really know and understand beauty, it has to be a lot deeper than an attractive face or a beautiful sunset. Those things are worth nothing without many other layers of beauty. And also, we all see different things as beautiful. Which is probably a good thing. Well done with this thoughtful piece!

[Echoes of Eros]

How this lifts the soul to the deeper, pure beauty of the world around us and within us, Crystal. You help us find the path to that which is too often neglected for mere surface beauty. So wonderful! xo

[Crystal Overmeyer-Birmingham]

Thank you. Sorry for the delay been off for a while :)