Week #5 – How to be “Beautiful!” (In three easy steps)

Beautiful3

Beautiful (Photo credit: Grace Church)

Week #5 – How to be “Beautiful! (In three easy steps)

Many people have used the word beautiful to describe my brother — myself included.  It’s an odd word to use for a male — but it was the first word I wrote on the word board at his funeral.  And I still catch myself saying, “He was a beautiful human being.”

What does it mean to be beautiful — and what can we learn from Rob in order to spread happyness to others?

1. Beautiful on the Outside — Obviously “beautiful” means handsome, pretty, and fine on the outside.  Rob was not the most perfect human being ever created — he had skinny legs, a slight underbite, and some seriously floppy ears.  But no one I know worked harder at their physique — and took great care of his physical appearance.  Rob did everything he could to be healthy, which is why the cancer was such a kick in the teeth.  Despite taking great care of ourselves, physical bodies may fade or fail us…what then?

2. Beautiful on the Inside — Beautiful also means agreeable, genuine, and real.  There is something called a beautiful mind — a mind that is agreeable, open to possibilities, willing to explore, to appreciate, to be interested, to be clear and precise.  Most of the words on Rob’s board are not about his physique, they are about his character.  We’ve covered some of them on this blog — his enthusiastic wave, his big hello, his affectionate nicknames, his depth of character.  These are the things that made him beautiful on the inside.  These are the things we can control…the choices we make within ourselves.  Are you still with me?   

3. Bring Beautiful Out in Others — A French writer named Stendhal defined it best in a way I never heard before this week — but one that certainly resonated with me and the mission for this website: “beauty is nothing more than the promise of happiness.”  There is no doubt that Rob brought out the best in people — their physical beauty through his observation or encouragement, their inner beauty through his genuine interest and ability to be real with people, and the promise of happiness to all — as soon as you saw his smiling face, his big wave, or heard his unique hello, you knew you were in for a positive interaction!

What about you?  Are you beautiful inside and out?  Do you bring the “promise of happiness” to others?

Your assignment this weekend:  On a scale of 1-10, how do you rate yourself in each of these three areas?  Evaluate your answers.  Then name one thing you can do to create more beauty on your outside, your inside, and for others.  Then do it!  And don’t forget to share your results!

Be beautiful!  Be honest!  And be real with yourself and others!

Spread Happyness — and tell us about it in the comments!

10/17/14 by Grace Church
© Grace Church

 

4 thoughts on “Week #5 – How to be “Beautiful!” (In three easy steps)

    1. Grace Church Post author

      Your story is beautiful, Bert! Rob was so inspired by your hard work and dedication to your physical body…you have a great story to tell. HAPPY FRIDAY!

  1. Gloria

    Grace, I really enjoyed reading through the blog tonight for the first time. Lovely writer you are – you really paint the picture of the beautiful person that Rob was.

    1. Grace Church Post author

      Sweet Gloria! Thank you so much for taking the time to look through the blog! I will be forever grateful for your encouragement and support to me, and unconditional love for my brother — a person you never met, yet you jumped at the chance of helping from 6,000 miles away. Peace, love, and eternal Aloha to you!

Comments are closed.