I once saw a movie about 15 years ago that I cannot recall anything of other than the ending, yet I will never forget it…it burns in my memory like a beacon of light guiding my way with the same inspiration and power as the moment I saw it. The scene was of a woman, I cannot even remember if she was young or golden…it didn’t matter- she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. Sort of…I mean, conventionally speaking, her nose was rather long, her eyes perhaps too small, her lips on the thin side…you know what I mean. But there was SOMETHING about her that was literally breathtaking. She mesmerised me. Her face was lit up from within. Her aura, her soul, shone through her eyes. I loved her. I understood her. I knew I wanted to be like her.

I too am not what one would call a conventional or Natural beauty. If it was PRIOR to seeing this movie, I would tell you all the defects about my face…it would take some time! But having had that remarkable experience of being in a woman’s presence who was sooooo beautiful from within, I cannot see myself with the critical eyes I once did. I see my light, my soul, my beauty every time I look in the mirror. There is a sparkle in my eyes that I didn’t have when I was younger- my zest for life! And there is a sadness, a pool of compassion for the suffering I have experienced and even more so of the suffering I see in the world…there is a depth of beauty there that is palpable- you can feel it when I beam at you.

Some people have so much love in their being it just radiates. I have seen this inexplicable quality in mature women who have lived well. I tell my children thateven though everyone chooses their life and even their death long before they are born that some are very afraid to die. They ask me why is this? I answer with conviction that it is because they have so many regrets, that they lived with their hearts closed and so that is how they must die…and therefore their hearts are full of fear instead of love. It is the same with BEAUTY. We are born with certain features and complexions etc, but we make our own expressions over time. The habitual attitudes and dwellings of our thoughts etch out what our faces will become.

To be very frank, I have never seen a woman who wasn’t beautiful- in some way. Unfortunately, many woman do not take care of their beauty, and it fades with neglect over time…but it is always there hidden underneath. The way a woman smiles, a soft place for her man to fall…the way she pats a puppy or tenderly strokes the face of a child…the way she hums or sings or dances when no one is around…the way she takes the clothes off the line in summer and folds them with ease and grace…the way she bends and attends to little boo-boos…the way she prepares food with love…the way she puts on her lipstick…the way she closes her eyes when she smells a rose…the way she touches the arm of her elderly neighbour when she says hello…the way she nurtures her relationships…the way she sees the best in her children…the way she is fierce and ferocious about her standards…Women are the most Divine, beautiful creatures on earth. Every man and child and animal senses this! A man’s power is Power, a woman’s power is Beauty.

Oh, and of course there are little tricks I have learned along the way too that enhance what we have! But I shall leave you in suspense for now and share next post! In the meantime, be beautiful! Because you ARE.

Blissings,

Shannon ‘Shakaya Breeze’ Leone