New Beginnings

Just the other day a friend of mine said to me…. ‘YOU ARE NOT SO GOOD LOOKING.’ Frankly, until that moment, this thought, rather a question, whether I was beautiful or not, had never crossed my mind in this way that made me feel sad .I did not know how to react to this comment. I felt bad, I felt hurt but no reaction came forth.

Sulking, I reached home with that one thought almost tearing my mind apart. My mother found me not my usual self and asked me the reason. I asked her what it was like to be beautiful or not beautiful. I narrated this incident to her.

My mother took me in her arms and explained to me that all of God’s creations are beautiful. Only the degree of beauty may vary. Then only can one really enjoy beauty. ‘If everyone were to be the same, would it not be a monotonous world?’ she queried. She further explained that beauty comes from the heart and reflects in a person’s looks, behaviour, demeanour, way of dealing with others, etc..

Then almost in an instant, like a flash, our Scottish Zeitgeist, the School’s official newsletter notification came in front of my eyes of which the topic was…. ‘New Beginnings’. Also, the conversation with my mother had already started to make an impact on me.

I decided at that very moment that my ‘New Beginning’ will start with this incident. I made up my mind that every comment, suggestion, incident that came my way and which was not so encouraging or uplifting, I would take all of that in a positive way only. Rather than feeling bad, feeling hurt, thinking negatively of the other person, I will work around such comments, incidents, and focus on my personal growth. Many of these could be genuine eye-openers for me and help me in my self-growth and personality development.

Now, I no longer feel bad about the comment made by my friend. I am working on developing my inner beauty and constantly reminding myself to be a good human being. With a sincere heart I thank and bless my friend who passed this comment. I say to her from within, ‘It is you who have given me my New Beginning and I will always be grateful to you for that.

“Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder.”

Written by: Narayani Joshi