Monday, November 5, 2012

Beauty: Within, Without, or Not at All

I believe I may have mentioned earlier that I have been really working hard on finishing up some projects in my home. It is truly coming together, and I'm so excited about how I feel when I open my door, walk into my home, and just feel ... aaaahhhhhh. I'm truly home. Not only is this transformation the result of trying to create a beautiful home, but it is also an internal transformation ... a realization of who I am and what makes me happy -- what "speaks" to my soul.

I'm in my late 40's and it has taken quite some time for me to figure out what truly is me, what truly makes me happy, what truly speaks to my soul. Also, what "spoke" to me at 20, isn't what speaks to me at 48. Too much life has happened in the meantime.

I'm reminded of the analogy of us starting out as lumps of coal, and through life, God creates a diamond ... something that He saw in us from the very beginning, but that we aren't able to see in ourselves. At least for many, it takes a long time, for others, they never see their full glorious worth. How incredibly sad that is.

So, today, for my Brag Monday, I've created a free printable to help remind us that we have to carry the beauty within in order to see the beauty outwardly. I particularly hope that it will inspire you to remember how beautiful you are ... and that you will believe it!

I love this quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson. I created the printable using a peacock graphic (with many thanks) by the Graphics Fairy. As always, feel free to click on the printable and right click to save to your computer. It is for personal use and may not be mass produced or used in any commercial way. Please feel free to send people my way so that they may download their own copy.

Au Revoir mes amies ... have a wonderful week!!

Lorraine


2 comments:

marda said...

This is a wonderful quote. I like the images you've used too. (I've had trouble getting your comments to open... I tried several times yesterday. Don't know what's going on, but I managed to get it to open this evening.)

Thanks for the inspiring printable.

Unknown said...

Sorry about that. Maybe you have to be logged into your gmail account? I don't know. However, I'm so glad that you like the quote and the printable. I am pretty proud of it myself. In fact, I've turned it into a tile that will be in my Chez Lorraine's shop by the end of this week, so that it will hopefully inspire others. Thanks for all your comments Marda, I love knowing that what I'm doing is touching a similar chord with others!