Everything is beautiful – or is it?
May 4, 2009 by Joe Gigantino
The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen, nor touched … but are felt in the heart. ~ Helen Keller
When asked to define beauty, how many of us automatically picture in our minds something aesthetically beautiful? You may imagine a rose bud opening up or a majestic landscape. If we were to think of a person as being beautiful, I would have to admit that I would imagine an outwardly very attractive person – someone who captivates me by their physical beauty. We’ve all heard the old saying “Beauty is only skin deep,” and we try to act like we believe that, but show us someone like Susan Boyle from Britain’s Got Talent, and before she even opens her mouth, people are laughing and making fun of her based on her outward appearance. Yes she did “wow” the crowd, but after she’s discovered to have such an amazing voice and she’s got a signed contract, what happens? She’s given a makeover – to conform to what society believes acceptable beauty to be.
It’s very easy to get caught up in the “beautiful people” zone. It’s become such a staple, that even extraordinarily good looking people are left feeling bottom of the barrel, like they don’t measure up. We are bombarded with what Hollywood and New York tells us is beautiful. Even people in their 20’s are reaching out to aesthetic medicine and other ways to hold on to their youth or to just keep up with what society says they should match up to.
On a recent visit to the Sonoran Desert’s Botanical Garden in Arizona, I learned a great lesson. What I thought would be a somewhat boring tour through the desert helped me to see things in a totally different light. I always thought of the desert as dry and desolate with prickly cactus, snakes and scorpions.
What I discovered was that many of those prickly, sticky, plants contained numerous food properties, as well as medicinal benefits, and I left there with a reverence toward the desert that I would never have had without hearing from a knowledgeable tour-guide the purpose of each of those desert plants and how they provided housing, medicine and food for countless people throughout the centuries.
You see those plants were strategically created with a purpose in mind – often multiple purposes. Just as we come in different shapes, looks and sizes, we all have purposes. You may not even realize what your purpose is, or you may feel you have so many purposes that you are overwhelmed, confused and therefore unfocused. Many often make the mistake of thinking they are supposed to have one giant purpose that sticks out like a sore thumb, and when they don’t recognize it, they become confused thinking “What’s wrong with me? Why don’t I know what my purpose is?”
I’m a believer that throughout the course of our lives, we have multiple purposes and it’s the things that we have passion for, things we feel compelled to change or make a difference in – those are the callings we have, and we need to press forward with those things.
You all know what my passion is by now. Fitness is such a calling in my life that I live and breathe it. I won’t try to force my passion on you, but one thing I will do is reach out to inspire, encourage, train and motivate you to become a healthier you. You see, when we exercise our physical body, we not only cause it to conform to the state it works most efficiently in, but we also generate a sense of confidence in ourselves that exudes out of our pours; and we all know that confidence is attractive.
Although you may not be “Hollywood worthy” from the outside, once you develop a solid wellness plan, a healthier, more confident you will emerge as your true beauty shines, tapping you into a more purpose-filled life.
Enthusiastically,
Joe Gigantino Jr.
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Well said. I’ve never been one for all the makeup, flashy clothes, and other stuff to enhance my appearance, but somehow my teen daughter takes stock in this philosophy (it’s frustrating). I believe school influences and media have a lot to do with it. I’m going to share this post with her. Thank you!
Joe – This was a wonderful post! Love the last paragraph – so true!
Thanks!
Thanks to you both for the great comments and good energy
Yes, I have a teenager too – so I think we all go through it!
This is a great post. I am so amazed by your writing. You are so busy yet you do a great job writing. I went back up to copy what I thought was great, but my “highlighting” just kept getting bigger and bigger until I realized I would have been copying most of the post. What I am saying is that I love WHAT you have to say, but also the WAY you say it (first thing that hit me was “prickly, sticky, plants” that is great!). I usually tweet your stuff. Here I go, off to tweet. (I am late reading this one.)