Beauty in a Deeper Sense

I was speaking to a woman this morning who said something so moving that I wanted to share it with you all. This is a woman who I have great admiration for and she is 150% heart. So, when this conversation started it frustrated me for a minute. We were talking about my company, http://www.anatomyofstyle.com/, moving into the retail sector.

I was giving her the low down on what Donna and I expect when we go to market next week. She was telling me about a class that she recently took from another consultant. We got on the conversation of size and why the apparel industry doesn't make attractive clothing for larger women readily available. That's when she started telling me that she used to be smaller.... I don't have to finish that sentence because we have all used it or heard it. That's where I get frustrated.

Why, as women, do we feel the need to tell people that we used to be smaller, are in the process of losing weight, have a medical problem? Whatever the reason....why do we feel that people will respond to us differently if we make them understand that we don't choose to be larger than the average 15 year old in magazines? Like I said, the frustration was momentary. Here comes the really beautiful part.

This woman told me that she gained weight when she was going through chemo. Ouch, I feel like a big jerk. Then she said the most beautiful thing. She said that when she talked about her weight to her husband, his reply was, "you're here, that's all that matters." He understood the blessing that it was to have her to love another day. He understood that her beauty transcends her body. His response to her was simply moving.

I will tell you that I haven't met many women that I think are more beautiful than this woman. Every thought that goes through her head is about how she can help someone else. She has a servant's heart and she is good at helping people to get what they need. I personally think that this earth would lose a little of its beauty without her. I would like to think that we could begin to value spirit beauty over aesthetic beauty and stop feeling like we have to justify our bodies.

Donna and I want to make sure that our company is a balance between celebrating the beauty that doesn't readily show with providing you with resources to make the outside match the inside. As we head off to market for the first time, it is people like this woman that we will think about. Every one, regardless of shape and size, should feel beautiful and never feel like they need to explain why they look a certain way. God Bless every one of the beautiful women on this earth.