Building Beautiful

“The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.” — Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

Did you ever see the Pixar movie, "Inside Out"? It's a sweet story (and worth the watch if you have a bit of time) about the richness of feeling the layers of our emotions. When I think back on my life, there is not a single impactful memory where I felt purely one thing. There are moments of joy with a side of longing, there are moments of sadness with glimmers of hope, and there are plenty of moments of tears and laughter puddled together into a delightfully messy emotional smoothie.

Perhaps it's a habit of our culture to always be seeking to feel solely happy...and I think in doing so we could potentially miss out on the nourishment of a balanced diet of emotions - as if each emotion had a certain vitamin, flavor, and texture to add to your diet. We may prefer some over the others but we know that even the bitterness of a darker chocolate moment can be softened by adding a touch of whipped creamy hope right at the end.

It's true that the most beautiful people I've ever met are those who have tasted darkness and have used it as a springboard to empathy - to enhanced moments of kindness and understanding.

Beautiful people are made of intricate layers of emotional flavors - a recipe whipped up through perfectly imperfect, bitter yet sweet, salty and spicy and sugary and savory experiences...all nourishing growth, all welcome, all felt.