“Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.” ~ Confucius 
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A few weeks ago, my girl and I were laying side-by-side, resting from an intense game. The sun was shining on our faces, but the air was cool. A perfect late summer day, until…
Until the moment my 11-year-old rolled over squinted her eyes at me and said, “Mom, you have a lot of grey hair.” And then as her youthful eyes slid to my face, “And you look old.”
I forced out a laugh because I know she’s seeing things that have been there for a long, long, long time. But it still made me cringe.
Then my girl smiled a genuine grin, “You’re so pretty.” Wait, what?! Old is pretty?
How is old and grey beautiful?
I shouldn’t be surprised. At 11, my girl has been working through the whys behind our weird social conventions: Why do women wear makeup? Why do most men shave their face? Why is it sometimes not okay to tell the blunt, honest truth (like you look old)?
But all along I’ve carefully delineated between being moral and modest (aka truly right) and what those things that are true because they’re culturally accepted. If you’ve ever tried to examine it or explain it, it’s a hard line to find.
Incredibly it is there. And that brings us right around to what I’m all about her at Beautiful Ugly Me:
Finding Beauty underneath, inside, and all around the ugly
It isn’t logical. But it’s true. It’s true that a slimy pink worm is beautiful in its purpose. That the shimmering heat waves of a hot day highlight another plane. That the crystal cold of a winter’s night whispers of snuggled closeness. And grey hairs are a hallmark earned from a life lived.
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Over the next few weeks, I want to explore the idea of beauty—why it’s important, what makes it tick, what threatens it. It’s a confusing thing. Not something easily pinned down or described, but I hope you’ll join me on the journey…after all togetherness can be a beautiful thing!
Underneath, inside and all around the ugly, finding beauty. I love that.
Thank you my friend. So much about life is finding an accurate perception. There’s so much beauty to be found in the unlikeliest places.