Happy girls

True beauty is not skin deep but goes so much deeper. You could have the perfect body, be fit as a fiddle, but if your heart is dark, it will show. You might have the perfect skin, but how are you with others? What motivates and drives you in life? When you get to the heart of someone, that's when beauty or ugliness is seen most clearly. I have a friend who raises her kids to have a happy heart. If they start showing attitude, she sends them to their room until they can get a happy heart. I think there's something there because ultimately we are responsible for our own heart - how we tend to what grows there, how we garden it, etc. And kindness, compassion, grace never go out of style. I think this is a good question to ask oneself periodically. What's in your heart?

I don't think that means you have to be a soft, delicate, fragile little flower that seems breakable and unbelievable. But bitterness, anger, a constant state of sadness is like the color purple. You're bruised and it's showing. This may not be your fault what has happened to you or where you find yourself but what you do have control over is what you do in those moments. Whatever is weighing you down isn't worth the weight. Let go of it and move on. Even if all in your life is going crappy, but you have a happy heart, or you have to go to your room and get a happy heart, it will show through. What's troubling you can't be worth the weight it bears down on you. Not to mention it's just not pretty. Don't you like to be around pretty things? Things that delight your soul to look at? Your heart can be that way too....doesn't have to be so dark and ugly.

Isn't it funny too how once you find yourself all in a twitter over something so menial, you just want to kick yourself later because hindsight is truly 20/20. It's so easy to see how dumb something was once you've done it. It takes less effort just to smile, to lighten your load and let go of the things concerning you. This is where trust in God also comes in. Find joy in life in spite of whatever your circumstances might be. In my humble opinion, this is a sign of understanding true beauty. It's a lifelong endeavor but so worth the glow.