I was once a tall girl, five feet six and one half inches. As I have grown older I have lost much of that height and now stand at five feet four inches. The funny thing is that my feet are still the large size that meshes with my taller physique but my hands have also been rather tiny and out of proportion with my long arms and legs. 

Not only were my hands small but they seemed to always appear to be older than the rest of my body. Only now has the rest of me caught up to the wrinkles and worn look of my hands so admittedly I was somewhat embarrassed by my stubby fingers for much of my life. It was not until someone grabbed them one day and proclaimed that she loved how my hands spoke of someone who had truly experienced life. 

Of course I was stunned by her pronouncement and wondered what she meant by her praise. She explained that my hands appeared to be accustomed to doing hard work, caring for the world around me. She saw them as emblematic of determination and a willingness to engage in laborious tasks that needed to be done. 

I was flabbergasted by her words but left with a feeling of accomplishment that made me smile. The truth is that my hands have often taken part in hard labors that left dirt under my broken nails and scratches on my palms. My hands have been up to my wrists in mud and dirt. They have turned red from scrubbing a dirty surface. I have used them to apply pressure on a wound so that someone would not bleed out. They have been spotted with paint and stained with the ink that I used to write papers and answer questions on exams. In fact my hands have only rarely been pampered because I constantly use them to get things done but also to hold or hug someone who is grieving or hurting. My hands have endured as much living as my eyes and they are reminders of the hard work that I have asked them to do. So I truly appreciated that comment from the observant person who provided me with a much better way of assessing the appearance of my hands. 

I say this because we live in a world that can be rather superficial when it comes to judging people. We glance at someone and almost instantly decide if we think he or she is beautiful based solely on values the we have created in our minds for deciding the person’s relative worth. We do this even as we know that it is an incomplete method. As the people of the world pass us we take note of them in quick succession often missing the most beautiful among them. 

I was at a party sitting across from a woman that I barely knew. Her appearance did not instantly stand out to me. She wore no makeup and lines and wrinkles and dark areas under her eyes were quite visible but the more she told me about herself the more I understood how incredible she was. As her story continued to unfold her appearance changed in my eyes. I saw a beauty in her countenance that had not been so apparent at first. I could see that her entire focus was outside of herself. She was genuine and honest and no amount of makeup or fakery would have made her more beautiful than she already was. I realized why she had so many friends at the party and why their faces lit up just talking with her. I saw her smile and instantly change the composition of her face and so I blurted out that I thought she was beautiful. 

She stuttered in embarrassment for a moment and even laughed at the very idea but then her husband who had been silently listening to her just as I had been spoke up and thanked me for seeing in her what he had seen for all of their married life. Then she humbly smiled and showed her gratitude to both of us. 

I still think of that moment because it was a watershed for me. I realized that true beauty lies in a person’s heart and when it is there it transforms the individual’s appearance in our eyes. We no longer see the superficial aspects of beauty but only the ones that matter. So too might we learn the reverse when someone with lovely physical aspects spews hatefulness the countenance takes on a foul and foreboding appearance. We see only their ugliness and feel repelled. 

There are truly good people all around us who have hearts of gold. All too often we gush over those with glamorous physical features but never take the time to mention the immeasurable beauty of an unvarnished and humble soul. Think of how much better and more meaningful our society would be if we began to celebrate goodness over superficialities. Not all beauties are without gentle hearts. Some are lovely inside and out but far too many receive kudos simply for have slim figures, great hair and perfect facial features. Then we learn that they are also empty inside. 

It is said that beauty is as beauty does and it certainly seems so to me. Even the fairytales warn us to look inside hearts and souls to find the truth of a person. When we take time to look deeper we see the true loveliness of a person and we envision them that way forevermore. Beautiful souls need to hear how lovely they are in our eyes.