It Only Takes a Spark!

I remember growing up learning a song at a summer camp:

“It only takes a spark to get the fire going…”

Even if you don’t know that song there is possibly another campfire type song that now has popped into your head.

This is the message that I want to share with the world – it only takes a spark to ignite a fire. And that’s when true beauty shines through in the way a bonfire takes off and explodes into a roaring flame.

For me the ‘spark’ was a shampoo sample. A coworker brought samples to work one day of the products she uses on her hair. I took one but it was weeks before I actually used it. I saved it for that ‘special occasion’. Not for an occasion of going out or anything like that but a special time when I would have a low moment and would need a boost to my self-care and self-love.

The day came, and even though it was a few years ago, I remember how I felt. I woke up feeling sad. My husband was away (half a world away to be exact) and I was not able to connect with him for a few days. Work had not gone well. I had not treated my daughter-in-law with respect (I got upset about dirty dishes in the sink – we were living together at the time). And I really wanted to just sit down and have a cry or a bag of chips or maybe both.

Instead, I remembered the shampoo and conditioner sample and decided to enjoy a longer than usual shower and use the sample.

Opening the package, I remember the fragrance bringing tears to my eyes as my soul was already being touched. Turning on the waterfall showerhead, I stood there and closed my eyes while shampooing and conditioning and I felt myself being transported to my ‘happy place’ (Cancun Mexico).

I got out of the shower and the way my hair felt – the shine – the body. I actually shed more tears. I texted my coworker and said, “I feel beautiful!” and I became her customer.

“It only takes a spark to get a fire going…and soon all those around will warm up to its glowing!”

This is me…helping you…Spark Yr Beauty!

What Do You See?

Let me share a story of ‘seeing’ which happened with my granddaughter recently. I was caring for my granddaughters when the oldest one handed me a telescope and said, “Look inside it Nana – what do you see?” I looked up at the tree and I could see a small bird that I had not seen without the magnification. I told her about it. She then said, “Now Nana, turn it this way (backwards) and look at me!” The reverse of the telescope of course made her look as small as an ant. Her giggle at my expression and description still rings in my ears.

The point of this story is that often our vision does not see clearly. If our vision is not to be trusted, then how do we know what we are seeing?

I would like you to do an exercise with me. Go ahead and take a moment and look in the mirror. I mean really look. What do you see? Can you see beauty? Be honest with yourself. Does even the idea of this exercise create fear, or are you suddenly feeling tears in your eyes?

What if I told you that you can’t trust what you are seeing? Yes, this is actually true for a few reasons, and I will unpack this truth over some  upcoming blog posts. But let me say this to you:

Very few people can look in the mirror and actually see themselves. They see through layers of filters of what they have been taught to believe about what they are seeing. I would even posit that it is rare for a person to look themselves in the eye in the mirror and say with full confidence, “You are uniquely you, and you are beautiful just the way you are!”

Now perhaps you are reading this and you think it does not apply to you. That’s wonderful! But stick with me because there is very likely someone around you who might need to recognize their own value and self-worth. And this is where the redefining of beauty comes in to play.

I will share more of my story in sections along the way, but I will tell you that one voice in my head says, “If you say you are beautiful, it means you are vain.” The other voices are usually about what I would fix if I could change what I was seeing. These affect not only my self-image, but they have moved over into affecting my self-worth and self-esteem. And from what I have been reading, I’m not alone.

The picture my friend Katrina allowed me to post at the top of this article shows that when you look at the world through a globe, not only does it distort the picture, it actually turns it upside down and backwards.

And so I leave you with this thought: Is it possible that you have not been able to look at yourself and see the beauty that makes you uniquely you?

I invite you to sign up for this blog to learn more of my journey and perhaps together we can help each other as we unpack ‘the meaning of beauty’.

This is me…helping you…Spark Yr Beauty!