What a contradicting phrase, most of you might think, but after reading the contents of this article you might change your mind. I am trying to boost confidence into the souls of those who have lost it.
Most of you must have read or known about the fairy tale of the Ugly Duckling. To recap, the story tells of a homely little bird born in a barnyard who suffers abuse from the others around him until, much to his delight (and to the surprise of others), he matures into a beautiful swan, the most beautiful bird of all.
Many things in this world appear ugly or troubling, but upon closer inspection you find that they are more beautiful than you can imagine. Just like a fresh egg from a hen, which when cracked open into a bowl as part of your breakfast preparations drops a spot of dark red blood, signaling the beginning of a new life. Or the way a great rainstorm washes out your dirt driveway and leaves a beautiful fan of sand on the paved road below.
Being ugly is irrelevant. Although it might be an immeasurable insult to a man or woman- women precisely – but being ugly, as being beautiful, is an illusion. Prettiness is something we’re born with, bet beauty is an equal opportunity adjective and we’re only human.
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We’ve been in love, and we’ve been heartbroken. We have felt so amazingly happy and felt like dancing, and so extremely sad, that we felt as if we couldn’t live another day. We’ve been stressed and depressed. We have been all alone and have been joyful. But we are blessed, and we should be grateful. We’ve gone through the trials, the pain, and sufferings of life. We have had ups and downs in many of our relationships. Many have called us ugly yet many others have stated the opposite. There have been those days when we certainly felt that our heart couldn’t take the pain any more. We have been used, abused, and taken for granted.
We might have been hurt by the ones we loved, and rejected by the people we called our friends. There are days when we are even forced to put on a fake smile and a fake laugh. And many times we try to convince ourselves that things are okay when they are not. Our lives might simply be anything but a perfect picture. But we are only human, and only by the grace of God can we make it without being defeated.
People always desire to separate their worlds into polarities of dark and light, ugly and beautiful, good and evil, right and wrong, inside and outside. These polarities serve us in our learning and growth, but as souls we are all of these things combined.
Nobody loves a woman because she is handsome or ugly, stupid or intelligent. We all love because we love. We don’t love someone because he/she is handsome or beautiful. It’s not about how hot your body looks or how charming he is. We love someone because of the overall qualities they possess. So rest assured that one day, when you are feeling as if you can’t take another step, someone will look you straight in the eyes, see right through your soul, and say: no, you’re not okay, how can I be there for you?
Remember that beauty has but one type, and ugly has a thousand, and that our greatest pretenses are built up not to hide the evil and the ugly in us, but our emptiness. The hardest thing to hide is something that is not there. So if you have ever been criticized as ugly consider it as a compliment rather than a curse and rest assured that God has never created something ugly. Everyone is beautiful in their own way.
To read more creative writing pieces and musings by Carmen visit her Facebook page.
