Beautiful

I walked out of the hair salon the other day feeling…well…beautiful. At our age, beautiful does not often come into our thought processes. However, no matter how tired, how beat down emotionally, how torn 50 different ways I am, I leave my stylist feeling joyously beautiful, smiling, laughing and feeling appreciated. That is what time with that woman does for me. We laugh, we cry, we share, and in a thousand ways, she tells me how beautiful I am, even if my Weight Watchers points counting has not gone well that week.  

Why are we women, young or chronologically gifted, so often unable to see ourselves as beautiful and beautifully unique gifts to the world?  Exterior beauty has never been something I feel like I have possessed. Not tall, thin, or blonde, I have never been one to  visually bowl someone over. My brain is amazing, my green eyes pretty, my hair has always been a strong point (even now it is stunningly salt and pepper). But breathtakingly beautiful?  Never. I am short, plump, and pretty non-descript. I am, however, an expert at putting down my appearance. My “Wing-Woman” Mary shuts me up when she hears it from me, as does Pepe, my husband.  STOP IT!!!!!!!

I saw this beautiful mosaic (below) of found objects created by one of my favorite artists, Suzan Germond, in one of my favorite galleries. It caught my eye because it is red, a color that symbolizes fire, spirit, and power to me. Looking more closely, you can see all of these little discarded trinkets, fairly meaningless, old, discarded items when looked at individually, which together make this beautiful statement. It is the sum total of what we are, heart, soul, laugh lines, cellulite, grey (uh…salt and pepper, please) hair, muffin tops, strong legs, amazing eyes, great brain, sagging everything, that makes us beautiful.

I feel beautiful when I walk out of my stylist’s salon. I feel beautiful when my husband sneaks up behind me to kiss my neck. I feel beautiful when I look down at my stretch marks from having 3 children (without anesthesia I remind Pepe regularly). I feel beautiful when I am in my Zumba class dancing to those sexy rhythms, feeling like a 30 year old. I feel beautiful when I listen to tango music.

Bette Midler said it well in her song “Beautiful”:

Well, I woke up one morning flossed my teeth and decided

Damn, I'm fierce, you look good

You can be just like me a Goddess? Yeah

 

Don't just pussy foot around and sit on your assets

Unleash your ferocity upon an unsuspecting world

Rise up and repeat after me, I'm beautiful

 

I'm beautiful, I'm beautiful, I'm beautiful

Can you say that?

I'm beautiful, I'm beautiful, I'm beautiful

 

What makes you feel beautiful???????