"Love yourself. It is important to stay positive because beauty comes from the inside out."

                                 ~ Jenn Proske

I'd like to share a story I saw I on Facebook yesterday. It was about beauty; perhaps you saw it.

An airline passenger has a strong negative reaction to the woman who sat beside him. As she walked down the aisle, he hoped she would not be the one assigned to the seat beside him. She was a large woman, obese, in fact, and...well, the rest of the story is shared in quotes below. It is rather long, but worth the read. You can probably guess where this story is going. If you do and chose not to read it, please act upon the message and morale of it today. May we drop our prejudices and see the beauty within a person.  

'...he already had in his mind what he thought was a thorough understanding of the woman. But he couldn’t have been more wrong. Although this passenger was outwardly judgmental, the woman did not let it phase her. She treated him with the utmost kindness.

She had to say “Hello” twice, because the man ignored her the first time. She introduced herself as Laura. She then asked him where he was from and guessed Japan. He curtly said, “Malaysia.” Although he was turned away from her, the new passenger continued her efforts in making conversation.

“I’m so sorry!” Laura exclaimed. “Will you accept my heartfelt apology?…If we’re going to spend six hours side-by-side on this flight, we’d better be friends, don’t you think?”

The man was reluctant to agree. He responded to her many questions and stories with only one-word answers, but as time passed he began to notice something unique about her. “Unperturbed by my coldness, she nodded as she made appreciative comments to my answers,” he shared. “Her voice was warm and caring. She was considerate and obliging when we were served drinks and meals, making sure that I had room to maneuver in my seat.”

As the flight continued the man noticed that Laura was a bright light to the people around her. She made every staff member laugh, and the people seated around her were drawn to her. To the man’s surprise, “by the end of the flight, almost half the cabin crew was standing near the aisle by us, laughing and joking with Laura.”

Finally, he asked her about her weight. Laura startled him when she explained that she did not want to lose weight. “You’re liberated only if you’re comfortable about who you are, and what you look like any time of the day and anytime of the year! Why would I want to waste my time on slimming regimes when I have so many other important things to do and so many people to be friends with?. . . God gives me so much happiness that I need a bigger body to hold all of it! Why would I lose weight to lose my happiness?” '

With love and joy,

Charlene