Monday, June 25, 2007
Happy People are Beautiful
While waiting to be called from my dentist's waiting room this afternoon, I began flipping through a 'People' magazine that was sitting on top of a stack of celebrity gossip-type magazines that chaotically covered the table. The particular issue that I picked up was one featuring a large section on 'The Most Beautiful People in the World'. I began to quickly thumb through the pictures...women beautifully and elaborately made up, not a hair out of place, seductively posed, not an unflattering inch on their bodies... men with their shirts unbuttoned...sometimes without a shirt at all...showing off their perfectly defined muscle as they posed in front of the most beautiful backdrops.
It was not, however, any of these "perfect" pictures that abruptly stopped me from continuing through the magazine. Instead, it was a short quote. The quote was next to a picture of a makeup-less and un-touched up Drew Barrymore. It read "Happy People are Beautiful".
I was intrigued and proceeded to read through the entire interview/story. After thinking about this simple statement...I could not agree more. People who exude happiness, warmth and comfort...those are the people in my life who I consider to be most beautiful. There is something about a genuine, inner-beauty that no makeup, photographer or digital computer can recreate.
Too often we get caught up in what others consider 'beautiful'...what the media tells us is "in". Too often we waste time and energy comparing ourselves to others...what they have...what we don't have...etc. etc. etc. If only we put that time and energy into living...enjoying life...loving others...and appreciating our unique selves...I can't even imagine the happiness that would follow.
Happy people really are beautiful and that beauty comes from somewhere within. It is a beauty that can actually be felt by those in its presence. It is so deep, so real...so warm. It is contagious...much like a smile...which brings me to another thought. People just don't smile enough. It is such a simple and effortless gesture...yet it can brighten or even change someone's entire day. It can help one find that beauty, that happiness within. One smile almost always begins a chain of smiles that proceeds to travel farther than we'll ever know. After leaving my dentist's office, I had to run quite a few errands on my way home and I decided to do a little "experiment".
Each time my glance met that of another person, whether it be in the checkout line at CVS...or waiting at that red light that seems to last forever...I smiled. That's it...I just smiled. I must have smiled at a total of about 50 people...all ages, genders, shapes and sizes...and every single person immediately smiled back. Without thought or hesitation, my smile was consistently answered with another...and I couldn't help but feel a little bit happier at the sight of each one. It may sound corny...but it truly is quite a phenomenon. Smiling is universal. It does not matter your race, sex, ethnicity, gender, weight, religion, etc....smiling ignites that happiness and the beauty of that happiness within all of us.
If you think I'm crazy...just try it. Just smile...find that inner happiness...that inner beauty... and share it with the world through your smile. See what happens. I'd be willing to bet that after doing so...you too will believe that Happy People are Beautiful.
