Core Truths

I cannot tell you the number of times I have treated a person a certain way, or had some preconceived notion about their attitude or behavior, or reacted to them in some way that I later wish I hadn’t. I cannot tell you how many times I have responded negatively to someone but later learned the rest of their story.  You know, someone treats you rudely, badly, unfairly, and you react only to find out later they are going through some difficult situation. Maybe the baby didn’t sleep so they didn’t sleep, maybe they are struggling with their teenager, maybe they are in an insecure spot in their marriage, maybe they are dealing with an aging parent, maybe they were just diagnosed. Somehow, having this information, we soften, we become more patient, we offer kindness and understanding. I know, I am telling you, I have been there and done that more times than I care to mention.  But I think we can do better. I think we can decide how we want to treat people. I think we can ...

The truth is, you are beautiful.  Let me explain. This has been a hard truth for me. Sure, there are times I feel beautiful, times like when I get all done up for date night, times after a new hair cut and highlights, times I’m just feeling good about myself. There are times I have been told I am beautiful, times like mentioned above, and times like when my husband looks at me and I can tell from the deepest part of his being he means it.  It’s not that being told “you are beautiful” is so difficult, it’s whether or not I actually believe it, whether or not it feels true to me. But there have been a couple of times, times that have stuck with me, times that make being beautiful believable. Years ago, when I was still a relatively young mom, and I had three young children, I remember feeling stretched beyond belief. I was a teacher full-time, and of course, I took on any other activity or role that was tossed my way. To say we were busy would be a drastic under...