Beauty in the Face of Tragedy

I have a friend from awhile back, with whom I have sadly lost touch. Recently, I came in contact with her again over some tragic news. She informed me that she and her husband were getting a divorce. And yet, during our conversation, she pointed out that she knew things would work out for the best. She stayed positive, and it took me aback a bit. Being a child from a divorced home, it took awhile to come to terms with the positive possibilities of divorce. So to hear my friend, who was with me through some scary times, come back with how many opportunities this situation presented, was truly inspiring.

And as a side note, this woman is seriously one of the truly beautiful people in this world. So gentlemen, if you get near her, remember, she is no ordinary "pretty" girl. She is a bold, beautiful mother, with more positive energy than you can imagine. There is nothing she can't do! And here is my letter to her...

Dear Friend,
I am here to tell you that you are BEAUTIFUL! I have always thought so. Your beauty is shining more now than ever. You have displayed courage, independence, positivity, and grace. I admire you for doing all that, AND being a mother at the same time. Heck, I can barely walk and talk at the same time, let alone do what you have accomplished. I know things are tough, and it would be easy to get ugly about it all; but after hearing you spout all the positive things that will come of this dramatic change in your life, I am inspired! How is it that I can lament my surroundings, when you have triumphed over demons far bigger than mine?!
I am in awe and amazed by you, and your optimism is a true gift in this world. It is truly what makes you one of the most beautiful people I know, and I am so glad that you are my friend. So keep smiling, and remember, you are beautiful, radiant, talented, and blessed with so many things. Your smile has the ability to brighten anyone's day. (Hopefully even yours ;-) ) You are in my thoughts and prayers.

--Me

The Worldly and the Wise

One of the most beautiful things in this world is abundant kindness.... Today, I had the opportunity to reconnect with family that I have always admired, but rarely had a chance to spend time with. My great-uncle (my father's uncle, for those that don't speak family tree), is an artist, educator, life-long learner, and an all-around cool guy. He's always ready with a quick wit, or a philosophical discussion, (whichever is more entertaining at the time. ;-) ) My great-aunt is a prolific poet, journal-er, and a talented jewelry maker. She has traveled and taught and influenced and inspired in many places, and I have had the great blessing of experiencing her abundant kindness first hand.

After cooking us breakfast, sharing stories, offering us more food, taking a walk with us on the shore, having an invigorating conversation about anything and everything, offering us more food, and sharing her smiles and wisdom, she even offered to let us stay at her beautiful home. (Unfortunately, our dirty laundry and our unwillingness to impose, prevented us.) As we sat on the back deck of the studio in which she creates her jewelry, and my uncle paints, I turned and saw my aunt, the sun streaming gently through the trees, and the conversation lighting up her eyes, and I was immediately struck by her beauty. Hopefully, she won't mind me writing this about her. (As I said, she has inspired...)

Dear Radiant Lady of the Garden,
Your eyes light up, and your speech pours out of you like rain; nourishing those around you. You let me rant, ramble, and babble about nothing, but always brought me back to the important point; that life is a journey and I am traveling toward something greater. As the sun caught your face, you smiled and the whole of me could not help but notice. Your laugh and light show off the strongest beauty. Your wisdom and experiences help me to see there is still time yet, for something, for more... Thank you for sharing your beauty with us! It is a pleasure and a gift to be around those who emit so much love, that one cannot help but feel welcome.

You are one of the beautiful people in this world! Radiant and serene, your beauty is unique and inspirational. You have a calm power, and a quiet strength that I wish to emulate. Thank you for your wisdom, and fellowship. I am truly grateful.

--Me

Welcome Back

It has taken me tremendously long to be able to pick up and write again... as you are well aware. Since my last post about my wonderful instructor, I have fallen into a bit of depression. I won't bore you with all the details, but let's just say, I didn't find myself fit to write about beautiful people, when I suddenly saw so little beauty in the world. Of course, this outlook was of my own doing, and was in truth, rather silly. I had forgotten to remind myself that beauty is constantly surrounding me, and it is my responsibility to see it.
After having been out of the metaphorical loop for so long, I hope you will forgive me for this slightly self indulgent post. Before I start this one, I would like to thank those that inspired me to write again. Not only my wonderful and supportive husband, but also the random stranger I met today--who, after talking with her, helped me to see my most beautiful points. Here goes...

Dear Me,

Here it is, your letter. The one you had been avoiding for a long time, because you believed you were not good enough to be included in your own blog! *** You are beautiful.*** Yes you! The one who makes jokes in the face of pain, so it hurts less. The one who will go out of her way to make someone smile because you think a smile looks good on everyone. The one who gets inspired by others accomplishing something great. You are beautiful. Don't listen to the ones who tell you, you are not good enough for one reason or another. They cannot touch what you've got. You see the humor in this world, and that is just all too rare nowadays.

The fact that you can derive your own happiness by just seeing someone smile, and saying "Hey, look how beautiful that person is!", makes you the beautiful person you are. You have always believed that laughter is universal, and uniting; and your willingness and desire to make others unite through laughter is part of what makes you beautiful. So the next time you look in that mirror, and see that bit of flab, or a new wrinkle, just laugh. Because ALL of you is beautiful, not just your eyes and hair, but YOU. Who you are and the way you see the world is special. Remember that. It will come in handy later.

--Me.

"With the passion of a thousand firey suns"--Shakespeare

Welcome back readers! Naturally, a million things have been going on in life that have slowed my blogging habit to a snail's pace. However, one of those things has resulted in me observing a myriad of beautiful people to write about. Don't let my title throw you. I do know the context of the quote, however, it is the only analogy I can use to describe this week's entry. (For those of you unfamiliar with Taming of the Shrew, the line is in reference to hatred, but the metaphor for passion was my aim.) I just returned from Texas after having attended a conference full of other teachers wanting to learn the International Baccalaureate Program. The program is centered around self-directed learning, and international mindedness. These people are literally from all over the world and are passionate about what they do. I was inspired and influenced by all those I met, and everything I learned. It is actually difficult to decide which beautiful encounter to write about! The one that is currently standing out the most in my mind, is my instructor. She is actually someone people might recognize and will therefore be left anonymous (as is usual for my blogs ;-) ).

Dear Instructor,
I was entirely inspired by you over the past few days! Your beauty radiated through our small group and infused itself into anyone you encountered. Your passionate approach brought out the deepest beauty one could image; a beauty that was embodied in your warm smile, and twinkling eyes. The humor, compassion, and excitement that you shared with us endowed you with a unique and sacred type of beauty, that more people should aspire to attain. It is not often that we teachers are given the opportunity to become enlivened and reanimated about what we do, and you have certainly provided an experience that has accomplished both of these things.
My hope is that we may honor your display of beauty by paying it forward. Our students should be as inspired by something in their lives. It is my hope, that they will one day find beauty in the inspired and enlightened, instead of the vapid and superficial. You have made me see that my own beauty lies within my passion for my craft, and I hope to pass that gift on to my students, my children, and the others I encounter in this small world. We all have the capacity for that kind of luminous beauty, and I look forward to helping others discover theirs, as you have helped me discover mine.
Thank you for all you have done,
--Me

To the brave and the gracious

First off, I am sorry I skipped last week. I am realizing how important it is for me to keep up with this blog and the positivity associated with it. Last week, I was unable and unwilling to see beauty in most things, and my generally crabby mood perpetuated the problem. There has been a lot going on in my life lately, and I am not really handling it all very well. I know that negative thoughts lead us to negative events, and I am a firm believer that we have the power to transform our outlook and attract positive things to us. However, this takes effort, which most of us simply do not feel we have the energy or patience to exert. So this morning, I started thinking back on all the people I encountered over the week, even if it was only for a moment. I was surprised to see that I had actually passed a lot of beauty right on by, without so much as a 'hello'.

As most of you are aware, I teach at a school. This is a high school to be more specific, and it is filled with... we will call them "interesting" people. Over the past week, we had a bomb threat, and a riot. Our dean was assaulted by several students and there was mass pandemonium for almost an hour and a half. Despite all of this, some people managed to pick up the pieces and put a smile on their face. So this is to several of those people, merged into one letter.

Dear Risk-Taking, Level-Headed, Beautiful employee of the school,

While this letter is about several of you, believe me when I say, you are each a unique form of beauty. I need to start by thanking you for your reassurance, kindness, generosity, and wisdom after what became an amazingly trying, and traumatic event. Your smiles made the day easier, and your abundant positivity about the days to come helped me to find some good in a seemingly hopeless situation. The camaraderie and laughs we shared after the trauma of the day made your beauty shine through with abundance. Your smile dispelled my trepidation about the unknown of tomorrow. How special that kind of beauty is!

Thank you, also, for easing some of my pain and burden with your generosity. I know how risky it can be to give assistance to someone when you work in a school, and your exuberant kindness is truly appreciated. The fact that you are concerned for the well-being of someone who you see rarely, displays a true inner beauty and a quality I wish I could practice more. So thank you for that.

Lastly, to those of you who didn't say a word, just shared your smile. That was truly beautiful. The effects of a smile are countless, and generally positive. Therefore, thank you, to all of you beautiful, risk-taking, hard-working, brave, generous individuals who have the gumption and verve to work in an imperfect place and strive to make it better.

--Me

Beautiful Men

So for the past couple of weeks I have actually pushed this one back, but no more! It is high time I wrote about one of the most beautiful people in my life; my husband. I know, I just called a man beautiful. I understand that this is not the social norm, however, I am here to tell you that men are beautiful too. (And for those of you getting squeamish, think of it in a completely-manly-beautiful-like-George-Clooney kind of way.) Too often I feel we do not allow men to be the beautiful people they are because of some convoluted sort of homophobia that is associated with certain words...like beautiful. Ok, so, off my soap box, and on to the letter...

Dear Beautiful Man,
Day in and day out I see you struggle with yourself, both internally and externally. I worry you do not see the amazingly beautiful qualities that are so evident to me. Internally, you have strength, integrity and generosity. You are always there for anyone with a problem, and you are patient with even the most belligerent opponents. You demonstrate all the things I admire in a person. Your strength is a lot of what makes you beautiful, (and I am not talking about your physical strength). You get me through the toughest times with a smile.
In addition to all of this, you have amazingly alluring physical qualities, that I think you don't even know about. Your eyes are as bright and inspiring as a sunrise and your smile is seriously one of the best parts of my day. I don't tell you enough how amazing you look. You don't need to worry so much about all those attributes that the commercials tell you about. You are beautiful! A beautiful man with an amazing ability to make me smile. You are one of the most beautiful people I know, and I cannot truly explain that here, in this blog.... but I think you know what I mean. ;-) I love you.
--Me

Beauty Pageant

I had a couple of options for this week and I must say, I had a hard time picking one. However, I decided to write about someone I watched during a pageant. Yes folks, a pageant. Not your typical Miss America either. This was the first annual Native American Miss Fairfax Pageant held at the school where I teach. This young lady in particular was the winner, and while I am normally anti-pageant, I felt that this particular pageant celebrated the culture and talents of these young women far more than their looks. Therefore, my beautiful person of the week…

Dear Beautiful Pageant winner,
I am always inspired by the teenagers I meet that carry themselves the way you do. You take pride in who you are, and you allow others to see what they have to be proud of in themselves. You smile constantly. I think that is truly beautiful. You walk with a confidence and poise that makes you glow. Your kindness and generosity shine through, even when you don’t say a word. I know sometimes it is hard for you, and you are criticized because of the way you look, or your background, but you, beautiful one, shine through it all. I am very impressed by you and the beauty you emanate. I am so glad you have won this award, and I hope others will be inspired by your example. Keep your head held high, and your beauty showing.
--Me

Beautiful Student

Working at a high school, I am constantly inundated with young girls trying to imitate celebrities through their looks. It is incredibly frustrating at times to witness the mental and physical torture they put themselves through to be “beautiful”, but every so often, a truly beautiful student comes in, and lights up the room. The following letter is to one of my many students. This one was written with her permission. For both of our sakes, I will not mention any specifics or names for this one…

Dear Beautiful Student,
It is rare to meet a teenager like you. In you, I see some of the deepest beauty there is. You have confidence in yourself, and that, my friend, is rare for anyone. (Even me.) You display a steadfastness in your beliefs that makes you radiant. Your unique features are to be celebrated! Why would anyone want to look like everyone? I hope more girls your age learn something from you. You have so many beautiful internal qualities that only enhance your external beauty. So what if you aren’t exactly like everyone else? Believe it or not, that is a beautiful thing! Everything from your height, to your nose makes you who you are, and that is beautiful! So keep your head held high, and your eyes wide open, because that is something others admire about you…. Even me ;-)
--Me

To the Beautiful People

After a wonderfully over-indulgent dinner, and an evening of games and friendship, my husband and I walked into a bookstore to browse the shelves before heading home.  Already, I was beginning to mull over each and every thing I had consumed throughout the evening, and regretted every wonderful bite of the chocolate fondue we had devoured with our friend.  As I walked past the diet section, (from which I never buy a book), my guilt took full effect, and I began to stare at the titles printed over perfect bodies.  I felt that familiar feeling of self-loathing, and ugliness set in.  And just as I was about to propel myself into a full-fledged pity fest and vow never to eat again ...an amazing thing happened... actually, two amazing things.  One, I saw another woman at the end of the isle, looking at the very same books, and very obviously going through the very same issues.  She was by no means ugly or fat, and certainly did NOT need to be looking at diet books.  She was really very pretty...  Two, my amazingly wonderful husband came over at that moment, and kissed me on the forehead before scooting off to find his favorite book series.  That is when it occurred to me... This woman, this beautiful woman, had no one there to tell her she was beautiful.  She was alone at this particular moment of crisis, and needed the very same boost that I did.  And that, my friends, is how the idea came to me.

I am going to do my best to find a beautiful person to write to each week.  While this may not seem exciting or interesting to many of you, hopefully, some one out there will read this blog, and realize, I am talking to you.

Dear Beautiful Woman in the bookstore,
You may not see it, but you have so many wonderful features that the rest of us wish we had!  You could stop a train with that smile!  Show it off!  You do not need to be in this section of the store, looking at these over-tanned, ridiculous people.  You do not need to hide in the corner, and you certainly, do not need to feel ashamed of anything!  You are a beautiful person.  And you are what we need more of in this world.  So, show off that pretty smile, and flaunt that beautiful skin!  You are amazing, and you are one of the beautiful people.
--Me