Tuesday, September 30, 2014

A reality about help


It is always a lovely thing to cheer someone up. Given our globally communicated reality, we can all cheer up friends anywhere around the world. Even in our daily lives it’s always possible to cheer someone up.

But this runs a risk.

When someone is cheered up by someone else, there lies a gamble of addiction or dependency. That’s because if you look hard enough, you will find someone nice enough to cheer you up and people in general become your “fix”.

For some time, I’ve followed a person on Instagram and I’ve seen this addiction take control of this person’s life. They always manage to be sad, angry, frustrated or what have you and their feed is full of people, kind wonderful people, offering support.

Here’s my worry expressed in a formula:

Sad / angry / pouty = love and support

If they say they’re ugly, they’re told they’re beautiful. If they say life sucks, they’re given hope and it continues that way because it’s learned behavior and at least for this person, it never stops and it is never enough.

The reality is that for it to last, happiness needs to come from within. Otherwise you’ll always need to depend on someone else to find something you already have within... and that’s not much help at all. 

Something Human This Way Comes


Thursday, September 25, 2014

Beauty has no impediment


In the building I work at, there is a woman in her late 30’s or early 40’s with crutches... and she is beautiful.

This woman did not twist her ankle, have an operation or have a cast on. She has a condition. Some people may say she has an impediment, a handicap, an incapacity or a limitation.

I disagree.

She simply has a condition that requires her to use crutches...

And she’s beautiful.

In a time where physical perfection is demanded of women, she walks with class, poise, style, grace; and yes, crutches. Many people come to believe that a condition immediately takes away from your beauty.

It doesn’t.

Unless you allow it to.

So here’s to beauty in all its forms and the power of the human spirit to surpass any condition. 

****

Ps.: the woman in the picture is the founder of mobileWOMEN.org. Click the title of this post to visit the website and support a lovely group of women you can look up to, regardless of where you're looking from.