"I have one request of you," she said prior to our upcoming photography session.  "I want to see myself as art, as beautiful enough to inspire art."  I replied, "What is your request of me?  Your request is of yourself to see in yourself the beauty that I will see.  You have to request that view of you, not me."
 
Two critical lessons stand out from that simple conversation:  people want to be seen as beautiful by others, and the first person to see it must be oneself.
 
It takes courage to share thoughts like she did, and it takes another sort of bravery and confidence to see oneself anew, with new eyes scanning for beauty from different perspectives.  In response to one of the images, she said, "In that one image was all that I requested of you."  Her eyes saw differently when she allowed them to.
 
Beauty resides in everyone.  We gain much in seeing it in others; we gain more when we see it in ourselves
 
 
 
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Beginning on Christmas Eve, I will start a weekly Christian-based newsletter titled "Faith's (im)Perfect Journey."  I hope that in sharing these thoughts your faith journey will also be enhanced.  I will not assume that all Listen to Life subscribers want this newsletter, too.  To subscribe, send an e-mail to dion@dionmcinnis.com with the word FAITH in the subject line.




A free newsletter about learning and getting more from life by paying attention to our own stories and the stories of others, based on the presentations, writings, photography and workshops by Dion McInnis (www.dionmcinnis.com).  Copyright 2008 Dion McInnis.  All rights reserved.