peacelovehappiness

You are always a valuable, worthwhile human being, not because anybody says so, not because you’re successful, not because you make a lot of money, but because you decide to believe it and for no other reason.

(Dr. Wayne W. Dyer)

Back in the day when I was running after one of those wild ideas for a business, I worked with wannabe models, actors, actresses . . . entertainers of all types . . . and in particular, I worked within the world of beauty pageants.

Have you ever seen an actor or actress and think to yourself . . . “what made this person think that they have what it takes to be in this business” ?????

I know it may sound harsh, but let’s be realistic in this biased, unfair and beauty obsessed world that we live in . . . it is already a tough career to go after if you are young and beautiful or handsome . . . but what about those downright unattractive people? What made them think to even go for it?

We all know that actors and actresses portray everyday people in commercials, television and movies . . . so all types are needed whether they be skinny, fat, ugly, beautiful, black, white, red hair, blonde hair, grey hair, young, old, in between, etc.

Beauty is how you feel inside,
and it reflects in your eyes.
It is not something physical.
Sophia Loren

Back to my story . . . one day a bouncy, smiling teenage girl walks into my shop, heads straight for the counter and inquires about the contest I have going for aspiring models/actors that included a free portfolio and acting lessons from a modeling agency I was working with. Not unusual for this to happen, I was running an advertisement and had all types of entertainment types coming in to enter the contest.

This girl was different . . . bless her heart, she had to be one of the most homely looking girls I had ever seen. I wanted to give her a big hug and tell her to please not even enter the cruel “beautiful” world she aspired to and spare her the tears of rejection.

But I didn’t . . . I eventually took her under my wing and gave her extra attention. Her attitude intrigued me, it was infectious. If the girl had a bag over her head, you would think that there was a visibly beautiful person there from her demeanor and the way she presented herself. The girl had no inhibitions about her looks . . . she acted like one of the beautiful beauty queen types.

I so admired her self-confidence that I wish I had and had so much more respect for her as a person over and above any other person who walked through those doors because she truly believed in herself. I wanted her to teach me how to get that feeling . . . it was special.

She didn’t win the contest . . . and there were many rude remarks about her photos from other people who came in to see the display of contestants. Eventually I closed the shop, never to hear from the girl again.

Some time later, I was watching television and I could not believe my eyes. There she was, with the same bright bouncy smile that now showed off the silver braces for her buck teeth, on a television commercial for a local television show for teens.

SHE WAS ONE OF THE REGULARS

The moral of the story is that out of all of the beautiful girls and handsome guys who walked through the doors of my shop, aspiring to be an entertainer, model or beauty queen . . . I have not seen one of them on the television or heard about them again. That is, except for the homely teenager with a whole bunch of personality and self-confidence.

I cried tears of joy for that young girl who had a vision and goals, felt her value, had confidence, knew her inner beauty would shine through and went for a very visible career that is so dependent on beauty.

The girl taught me a valuable lesson similar to the story of the “ugly duckling.”

Who we are is dependent on who
we envision ourselves to be.

Some wise words:

“I’ll tell you a secret about this world: it meets you exactly where it finds you and gives you what you present to it. So, if you go out there looking for anger, it will justify your anger. If you go out there looking for love, it will justify your love. If you’re looking for animosity and hatred, it will give you animosity and hatred. It will match exactly what you put out. That’s the key if you want health, wealth, and happiness.”

(John-Roger, from the book,The Tao of Spirit)