Today, my friend Ron posted a thread on my work forum calling for people to post photographs of people they found beautiful, both men and women. At first I scoured my mind for my celebrity “crushes,” for those “perfect” people who photograph so well and earn millions for their “work.” I found it incredibly difficult to pick out one or two defining photos that would neatly illustrate what I find beautiful, and as I sat staring blankly at my Google search results, I wondered:
What is beauty?
Physical loveliness?
Undeniable talent?
Some combination of both?
Is it the courage of your convictions?
Maybe it’s the courage to admit you might have been in error, while still holding tight to your desire to right grievous wrongs.
Is it what one has gone through and lived long enough to tell?
How about words that have spoken to you in the dark when you are sad and alone?
Is it being so famous and rich that you don’t have to do anything, and yet trying to do something anyway?
I think it could just be goodness shining like a halo of light, a beacon that even the blind can see.
Is it fearlessness?
Or is it being fearful, and yet standing defiant in the face of that which terrifies you, and could crush you?
Could it be your promise to fight no more forever?
Or is it saying, “Let’s Roll” and trying to overtake a doomed plane hijacked by terrorists?
What, then, is beauty? Do I feel any closer, after all this, to understanding? No. No. If anything, I am more confused, since clearly beauty encompasses all of these things and more.
The truth is, I don’t know how to trace beauty, how to name it in a way that will do justice to its definition. But I promise you this: I know it when I see it, and it is this small gift that keeps me, and perhaps all of us, tethered to this staggering, vast, marvelous world we are each of us so goddamned blessed to share.
This was brilliant! YOUR heart is quite magnificent, genuine, true, and certainly very lovely….In fact, You ARE Beautiful!
By: anglhugnu2 on April 8, 2008
at 1:57 am
Beautiful! Thanks!
By: Jacko on April 8, 2008
at 4:14 am
If you don’t submit this somewhere – or hell at least send it to flipping Oprah – I will have to hunt you down and hurt you!
By: Kerri on April 8, 2008
at 6:34 am
Wow Heather!! That was beautiful and very thought provoking. Thanks for posting this and giving something to think about.
By: jami on April 8, 2008
at 7:59 am
Wonderful, inspirational and yes, beautiful! You are awesome!
By: charmarie221 on April 8, 2008
at 8:48 am
anglhugnu2, what a kind thing to say, thank you.
Jacko, good to see you here again!
Kerri, really? Where would you suggest…to make it Into Oprah’s magazine I’d probably have to sandwich a photo of her in there somewhere. Maybe next to Bono.
Jami, I’m glad you got something out of it.
Char, no YOU.
By: heatherinparadise on April 8, 2008
at 9:08 am
My dear even the sun pales in the brilliance of such beauty….THANK YOU!
By: anglhugnu2 on April 8, 2008
at 9:50 am
I knew this would be powerful before I even looked below the title….now this should be the topic for the next beautiful people People magazine!!!!!!
By: you momma on April 8, 2008
at 10:06 am
I think you are a combination of all of the above Heather. You are outwardly beautiful (don’t argue, you are), you have courage (you live in a foreign land to your own is one example), you are empathetic towards others (Hurricane Dean & Bomberos, I need not say more), you are fearless (maybe not 100% of the time but you definitely are, we can’t all be fearless 100% of the time), I’ve seen you admit when you are wrong (we all are at some point in time), Talent, you are extremely talented in writing & absolutely hilarious (in writing & most definitely in person, colonscopy’s will never be the same
, so all in all you are a most beautiful person because it encompasses so much more than external beauty.
By: jacquelinawonders on April 8, 2008
at 10:14 am
Jackie, you made me cry. What a beautiful thing to say. Thank you.
By: heatherinparadise on April 8, 2008
at 10:21 am
Wonderful post. Thank you.
By: Nancy on April 8, 2008
at 10:25 am
You gave me goosebumps Heather! But in a good way of course.
And yeah…slip Oprah in there somewhere and submit it will ya?
By: Elizabeth on April 8, 2008
at 10:52 am
Heather this was one of the most exeptionally thought provoking things I have ever read. Wow! Incredible!Heather…you my friend are beautiful!
Thank you for sharing this!
Melissa
By: Melissa on April 8, 2008
at 11:10 am
This piece is impressive, Heather. It builds an emotional momentum.
A welcomed start to my day. Thanks.
By: karenj on April 8, 2008
at 1:39 pm
Wow…is there anything more to say that hasn’t already been said… This post was has beautiful as it gets. Thanks!
By: bokeefe on April 8, 2008
at 1:51 pm
You have touched my soul. Your photographs are truly extraordinary. I was particularly moved by the photo of the NYC firemen carrying their chaplain Fr Mychal Judge from the rubble of the Towers. Sadness for the loss of our Franciscan brother, yes……but, more….a gentle and poignant reminder of the gifts and joy given so selflessly by so many.
Thank you Heather for sharing the beauty that is life. We are blessed. Peace & All Good.
By: Anamcara on April 8, 2008
at 2:07 pm
This post should earn you a handsome sum as a TV commercial for Loreal. Not! What a lovely post. I’m new to your blog, but quickly becoming a fan.
By: Inez on April 8, 2008
at 5:06 pm
Beautiful thoughts and words. One of your best entries yet. Thank you!
By: Michele on April 8, 2008
at 6:23 pm
Wow, Heather, that was amazing. It’s so rare to read something truly thought-provoking. Thank you so much for that. I loved it. You are so talented and insightful.
By: Julie A. on April 9, 2008
at 7:23 am
Heather,
That post was a real treat. Thank you for taking the time to put it all together.
James
By: James on April 9, 2008
at 8:30 am
A very, very, very good post shedding light on a very interesting question- to which I don’t know the answer either.
I guess sometimes it is this and sometimes that- or as they say: beauty lies in the eye of the beholder.
You forgot one thing though: humor is a VERY important thing that can make someone beautiful. Which is just one of the reasons why you are a beautiful person Heather!
By: Joana on April 9, 2008
at 9:19 am
Beauty is your words.
By: KT on April 9, 2008
at 11:27 am
Heather, I got chills reading this post.
You are, just very cool.
By: Elaina on April 9, 2008
at 5:52 pm
I think this is the most beautiful thing I have ever read. Incredible.
By: Tyler Jordan on April 10, 2008
at 3:13 pm
LOL, you are right, you would probably have to insert an Oprah picture for her magazine. I would love to see you make this into a slide show. It could grace myspace pages everywhere! But seriously some of the more heart felt type magazines would be good, or in slide show format this would be an interesting blurb on a network such as Lifetime. Or even the news shows such as Primetime Live on ABC or 60 minutes, it would also make a great conversation piece for a talk show like The View on abc. it has many possibilities, and it has a LOT to say. I think it’s sheer brillance.
By: Kerri on April 10, 2008
at 7:48 pm
ya know someone made a comment how it wouldn’t be for Loreal — and that’s true, but Dove on the other hand is doing the whole thing with larger than normal size models, and older women to — and I mean 60 plus here — not 28 — all about natural beauty, which this also really captures. The one thing about sending something out, is yes, you may get hundreds of rejection over a lifetime, but that 1 “yes” makes it all worth it!
By: Kerri on April 10, 2008
at 7:51 pm
Hey, you know what, I’m totally blown away by all of your responses. I don’t feel worthy of it, but hell, yeah I’m appreciative and it moves me that all of you took the time to comment. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read something I thought was good and didn’t comment, so…thank you. All of you, especially those of you who aren’t bound by ties of blood to love me.
You all inspire me to try to write something better, to be a better person.
By: heatherinparadise on April 10, 2008
at 9:11 pm
I am a simple man
and I sing a simple song (Graham Nash)
so, simply,
thank you.
By: Roni on April 11, 2008
at 6:07 am
YOU are amazing. Many of your people would be on my list too….but you would be there with them. I love you!
By: Amy on April 11, 2008
at 3:10 pm
I want to send this link to members of my book club because I know someday we will be reading one of your books as our monthly selection.
By: Stef on April 11, 2008
at 3:56 pm
Wow….I love the way you think! What you have posted is so on point and is simply beautiful!
By: Maureen on April 11, 2008
at 7:47 pm
Heather,
I keep coming back again and again to read this post as well as the comments that everyone has left. You’ve touched so many souls with your words and pictures: those that have commented and those that choose to observe silently. This post only reinforces this I’ve already known about you: You have a beautiful heart, mind, and soul, Heather.
By: Vanessa on April 12, 2008
at 11:31 am
I agree with Jackie. Write it and we will read!
xxx,ooo
By: rasa on April 15, 2008
at 8:31 pm
what a beautiful blog,Heather…you have a way of capturing my attention…it takes a beautiful person to write such a wonderful blog…look in the mirror and you will see one of the most beautiful people that I know…thank you..luv u
By: luvinlife on April 17, 2008
at 6:41 am
I am so glad I stumbled across this bit of grace. And I am sure I will revisit this graceful essay…often. If only to be reminded of the IS of real beauty.
By: Deb on September 1, 2008
at 6:01 pm
Just found this (referred from Countdown to Mexico…). Lovely, thoughtful… downright beautiful! Thanks, Heather!!
By: Working Gringa on September 3, 2008
at 6:00 pm
Heather all I can say is, even though I have never met you in person, I think you are amazing!
Thank you !
By: Laura on March 24, 2010
at 9:15 pm
Like Shakespeare, this is timeless.
I only cry when I’m happy, this entry moves me that way every time I look at it.
By: Russell on March 25, 2010
at 3:13 am
That’s a great post, Heather! Very, very nice, thanks, although I’m still upset you didn’t make it to my birthday party
By: Monica on March 25, 2010
at 9:13 am
Straight to the heart. Simply beautiful. Thank you.
By: Moongrl722 on March 25, 2010
at 12:43 pm
Jeez oh Pete! I’m sitting here sobbing! I woke up wearing my crabby pants, and now they’ve been replaced with happy ones! Beautiful words for beautiful thoughts. Thanky you!
By: barefootsouljo on May 20, 2010
at 9:13 am
Thank you.
By: heatherinparadise on May 25, 2010
at 2:32 pm