A Joyous Perspective on Beauty: It's in the scars.

On this Friday Night Thought Tale Hour with the Henderson's, I want to talk to you about being beautiful. I've been considering it all week as I shared it on my page, Joyous Perspective. I've been especially touched during the week with some beautiful experiences that left me quite breathless. And as I have interacted with the people who provided me with so many memories filled with joy, I had to wonder if you must get to my riper age to see beauty in such a common way as I do now. It hasn't always been so easy for me to see it. I wonder if you might feel the same way?

After all, Life can be kind of ugly.

Beauty is a concept I have struggled with - what it means, why it matters. I struggled because huge chunks of my life have not been beautiful. They have been ugly, marred by trauma, with pain, and anger. I have dealt with my inner feelings of insecurity by wearing a smile and playing the part of a happy joy person. I did not expect when I was younger that I could ever marry the outward pretty with the inward scars.

As I've gotten older and allowed my scars to show, I now see
beauty as the grace point between what hurts and what heals, between the shadow of tragedy and the light of joy. I find beauty in my scars, and when I am honored by others who share their inner selves with me, I see beauty in the scars of others. 

Scars don't have to be scary. 

We all have scars, inside and out. They manifest themselves in different ways. Some are physical. We have freckles from sun exposure, healed wounds, evidence of surgery. And the emotional ones, formerly broken hearts, triggers for fears, pools of sadness. We usually do everything we can to hide and cover them. We layer over them with pride or defensiveness. We walk cautiously amongst other humans. We stay to ourselves or lash out from behind electronic devices. And you know what? We are missing an opportunity to be really beautiful when we hide our scars.

As I’ve considered beauty this week, I realized that it takes nothing to wear a snazzy outfit well, even for those less than our version of ‘beautiful.' But do you know what is gorgeous? When do I see a human who wears their scars like diamonds. Now that is beautiful. Stunningly beautiful.

Every scar tells a story.

I see scars, and I see stories. I see a being who has lived, who has depth, who is a survivor. They reflect how living is beautiful. Being a part of this world is beautiful, smile-worthy, despite the tears and pains we may experience.

Beauty isn’t a lifted face; a fat injected smile or six-pack abs. It is the smile we are born with, the smile that sources from the divine inside, the smile that can endure, even if we’ve been through a lot. The smile that is felt as strongly as one feels the frown.

So tonight, we will toast to showing our scars in all their glory. We are sipping on a cocktail appropriately called "Beautiful." Its amber glow and sweetness are a blend of two unlikely ingredients that someone somewhere decided to take a chance on. How about taking a chance in your life and letting your scars shine and glow? Take a chance, and CHEERS, FRIENDS.

Beautiful Cocktail**

1 oz Hennessy® cognac
1 oz Grand Marnier® orange liqueur

Pour each ingredient into a brandy snifter and serve.

**Always drink responsibly. Never drive after drinking alcohol.