Wednesday 23 February 2011

Born to be Beautiful

Save the Children are currently running their "No Child Born to Die" campaign and they are asking people what they were "born to" do. The first thing I thought was that I didn't know what I was born to do and I tweeted as much. The lovely Sian suggested I was "born to be beautiful" and while at first I blushed and was flattered, the more I thought about it, the more I realized maybe I was.

Now I'm not being cheeky here and pretending I'm some sort of aesthetically perfect goddess, I'm talking about a different kind of beauty. In high school in the States we each pick a quote our final year of school for our yearbook which is supposed to sum up our view on life: the boys all pick some Tupac, the girls pick from the most popular songs of the moment. My senior quote was lyrics from a Carole King song:

"You've got to get up every morning with a smile on your face
and show the world all the love in your heart
then people are gonna treat you better
you're gonna find, yes you will
You're as beautiful as you feel"

Beauty isn't about glossy hair, white teeth and good bone structure, it's about who you are as a person; when you make eye contact with someone on the street and smile at them; hold a door open for the person behind you; chat to a little old lady on the bus; tell a salesclerk to "have a nice day" or say "Sorry, no thank you." to a telemarketer, instead of just hanging up.

It doesn't take a lot of effort or money to make a big difference in someone's day by being nice. A smile is free and takes seconds, but how many people do you see walking around with a sulk on their face all day?

So yes, I think I was born to be beautiful. I was born to smile and say thank you and help out others however I can. I might not be able to give lots of money, but I can give my time, my enthusiasm and my smile.

You can learn more about the No Child Born to Die campaign and how you can help by visiting the Save the Children website or following them on Twitter. I'll be attending their blogging conference this weekend and I can't wait to see how I can help make the world a little bit more beautiful.


7 comments:

Lorry said...

That's lovely! There's always room for more beauty. Thanks for spreading the smiles! :)

Anonymous said...

this post is so sweet & true. beauty is so mush more that what most people perceive it as.

please keep sharing your beauty with the world :)

Mrs. W said...

Beautiful post from a beautiful woman. I think you were born to smile too, because your smile is infectious. I also agree that beauty isn't always about the physical attributes. It's about the beauty inside.

mtendere said...

I love Save the Children. Thank you for posting the information. It reminds me of one of my favorite Nelson Mandela quotes. I had to go find and read it again:

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us: it's in everyone. And when we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

Thanks for inspiring me today :)

Gwen said...

You definitely were born to be beautiful. I love save the children and I think this campaign is wonderful. :)

Gwen said...

you absolutely were born to be beautiful. Save the children is a wonderful organization and thank you for taking the time to recognize them and the work they do. It makes me question what I was born to do.

Claire said...

Beauty is so much more than skin deep, beliefs and actions can be far more beautiful than lashes, lips & glossy hair. Looking forward to meeting you & learning more about Born To :-)