Sunday, December 12, 2010

Haystack Rock



I have been following the prompts on Reverb 10 recently and one that really struck home with me was the theme of Beautifully Different.
I grew up as one of those kids who from an early age was made fun of and bullied . I was clumsy, went through puberty early and just generally the ugly duckling and because of that I have dealt with issues of self esteem my whole life.I have come to an understanding at the age of 46 that I am beautifully different .
I see that true beauty and by that I mean beauty that lasts comes from inside and is seen in the most unexpected places
I see the beauty of being different in:
*the smile on the face of the downs syndrome child as she dances in the rain just for the sheer joy of it.
*the beauty born of age in the smile of an elderly woman to me at the store
*the gruff exterior of the homeless man who asks for money at the main crossing in town
*the little girl with braces and glasses who smiles at me at the doctors office
*the beautiful breast cancer survivor I see during the breast cancer walk who has no hair
*the dread locked cashier with piercing and tattoo's at the local mini mart

Beauty to me comes from the soul and surrounds us all if we only look past the outer exterior o a person to see behind the masks we all wear to the soul of a little child that resides within us all.
I apologize to anyone I offended with the video of St. Jude Fri. that was not my intent . I only intended to promote the good work that this hospital does.
I encourage you to look for the beautifully different in the next week.
Hope you all have a lovely Sunday and week .


If you're really listening
If you're awake to the poignant beauty of the world,
your heart breaks regularly.
In fact, your heart is made to break,
it's purpose is to burst open again and again
so that it can hold evermore wonder.

Andrew Harvey

37 comments:

patti said...

You post on St. Jude's was in no way offensive, just happy in a sad way. And I love how you find beauty every where!

beth said...

i loved what you wrote and i loved this prompt the best so far....

Michelle DeRusha said...

Hi Yolanda,

I love your message here. My oldest son is beautifully different -- he simply marches to the beat of his own drummer. It's been hard for me to try not to make him into something he's not (i.e. athletic, more social, etc.). Words like these help me embrace the beauty in him just as it is.

Thanks for visiting Graceful...it's lovely to meet you here.

ellen said...

We all need to see with our hearts as well as our eyes, don't we?

Christine said...

Yolanda, I love this post and the quote at the end. I was an "ugly duckling" too- went through puberty LATE. It's amazing how kids are so mean to anyone who is not the exact definition of "sameness". Thanks so much for visiting my place. Your blog is so peaceful and I look forward to browsing through it a little more.

Breezy said...

You have such tender insights. I love your thoughts and words. Thank you for sharing them with us!

JoAnn ( Scene Through My Eyes) said...

You are a beautiful soul and touch many with that.

~ The Jolly Bee ~ said...

I like that....beautifully different. I think we're all different in one way or another. Leave the judging behind.

Cait O'Connor said...

It is a cliche but I agree, beauty does really come from within.

GardenOfDaisies said...

Haystack Rock!! I know this place. Yes, beauty can be found everywhere, even in unexpected places.

Unknown said...

This is so true!!!
Beauty is in the soul.

Sara at Come Away With Me said...

Beautifully written, Yolanda. You speak to the heart.

I want to thank you for your recent comments on my blog...it's good to hear from you again.

Judy Merrill-Smith said...

Love this post.

Dutchbaby said...

I love the well-wishes in your comment box. Thank you.

Yes, observing the beautifully different is what makes the world go 'round. If we had hold the same standard of beauty, we would never move forward.

Leslie said...

Thanks for this lovely reminder to recognize the soul-beauty in ourselves and in others. And thanks for stopping by my blog and taking the time to leave your kind comment. It's nice to meet you here!

Connie said...

Excellent post! I find that beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder and as the beholder I find beauty in everyone. Since I take so many pictures I am even more aware of the special "something" EVERY one has!
I love being your cyber buddy!

Paula said...

Beautifully different. I love it.

The little poem at the end about hearts being meant to break is so touching.

Lisa Gordon said...

Such a wonderful post. Thank you for visiting me. It is how I found you here, and I am so glad I did. What a beautiful blog you have!

nicole said...

to see the beauty, that is the gift.

Paige said...

I love that quote, and I couldn't agree more with your thoughts on beauty. I went through a year of being bullied by others when I was 11, and the effects are everlasting, but not insurmountable; I'm still working on building a healthy self-esteem at the ripe 'ol age of 40!

Tracy said...

My heart breaks regularly daily... I will dare to let it break again and again. :o) Glorious post, Yolanda ((HUGS))

Jane said...

At 46, I too have been working through body image and self esteem issues that go way back to childhood. Thankfully, over the past few years, I have really started to come in to my own. Beauty does come from inside. My son is beautifully different. Just yesterday I was thinking that there is no such thing as an absolutely perfect person. Everyone has some sort of challenge and it's all good in the grand scheme of things. This is how we learn and grow.

Stacy@hiswaynotmine said...

Hi Yolanda,
Thank you so much for your sweet comments. It is so nice to meet you! Yes, and amen to this post. Man looks on the outside, but God looks on the inside. May we all have God's eyes and look past the exterior to the interior. May we love deeply regardless of the exterior knowing that the interior of us all is fragile, beautiful and needs to be loved. Aren't we all...beautifully different in some ways?

Looking forward to hearing more from your heart.

Much love,
Stacy

cristie said...

i can see that you are good through and through. xox

Amy said...

Finding beauty in unexpected places is the most magical of all!

Melissa Campbell said...

I wonder if we were really ugly ducklings, or if we were just more sensitive to the voices that came to destroy us--those that oppose God and everything good, those that attempt to get us to believe we must conform to an image other than His.

Now in my 40's I am learning to discern and turn to Him for my inspiration. God works everything (even the opposition) for our good.

I love your posts and your quotes and the video was beautiful. I love your heart! Your sensitivity, like mine, is a characteristic from the Lord. I used to despise it, but now I give thanks--for I too, can see beauty in the least of things (which in the kingdom, are the greatest!) It is a gift to be treasured!

Blessings above and beyond what you could ever imagine!

Carolynn Anctil said...

Now that was beautiful. I especially like the quote at the end.

I've been tempted to take part in the reverb10 project too, but for some reason I draw a blank each and every time I look at the prompts. Oh well...

Blessings,
Carolynn

susanna said...

Oh, I do like your message here, Yolanda. I'm sorry that you experienced bullying when you were younger and that those words stayed with you later in life. I am glad that you now see and appreciate yourself as someone who is beautifully different.

Tiffanee said...

So well said! You made me cry!! Thanks for touching my heart in such a tender way!!

Dawn said...

This was absolutely beautiful! Thank you for it- it was what I needed today.
Love your blog...I'll have to come back:)

Rudee said...

Growing into our own skin and accepting that we're all different and beautiful is a lesson I wish we'd all accomplish earlier in life. I was 50 before I came to my own understanding and it was liberating.

I thought the St. Jude video was very moving. Thanks for posting the song.

Relyn Lawson said...

This post is so wise and so true and so heart-felt. I feel blessed just to read it. Thank you.

Anonymous said...

What a lovely post and a gentle reminder to be kind, especially to children whose imprint we leave on their egos well past their childhood.

I was involved in several big fundraisers for St. Jude's a few years back and found it to be a remarkable organization. It is good to bring attention to it here.

Mama Pike said...

That is a shame you had so much pain in your growing up years. I really like the term Beautifully Different. I had never heard of that until I read your post.

The Old Parsonage said...

Hi Yolanda

Just stopping by to see what you've been up to. Love this photo! And I agree beauty comes from within...

Thanks so much for stopping by my friend!
Leann

Anneliese said...

I just watched the video with tears coming to my eyes ... thank you for posting it ... a remindner to be thankful for health.
Thank you, also for the encouragement to look for beauty in the everyday and beyond... at the soul. Beautifully written.

HKatz said...

Thanks for visiting my blog.

It's a gift to be able to see the beauty in other people and in the world, especially when it isn't a culturally-promoted beauty. You capture that so wonderfully. Thanks for sharing those thoughts and reminding us to pay attention more :)