The Audrey Hepburn Lesson

As most of you know, I love Audrey Hepburn.  I know she passed away 20 years ago from colon cancer, but I still love her.  I love her movies because they are classy, smart and, for the most part, fun. I not only like her because of her movies and her acting, but because of who she was as a human being.  Those closest to her claimed she was humble, giving, and kind.  She had a reputation of being charming, which was hard to miss. She was the epitome of glamorous, classiness, and a number of other things.  She was (and still is) well loved. She had a love for children and was a special ambassador to UNICEF.  Her eldest son stated once that she lost a lot of weight during this time because she refused to eat if the children around her couldn't eat and would often give up her food to the starving children. I know she wasn't perfect, no one is, and I'm trying to make her out to be perfect, but it seems she was not only beautiful on the outside but on the inside as well.  

While she was well loved and many saw her as this glamorous person, she didn't feel the same.  She thought her nose was too big.  She thought her feet were too big.  She thought she was too thin.  Her son even stated that she would look in the mirror and ask why people thought she was pretty.

Do I have a point?  Yes.  Yes, I do have a point.  We all look in the mirror and see things we don't like. I too, look in the mirror and think my nose is too big, among other things.   I think Audrey Hepburn was a beautiful woman, yet, she didn't agree.  Do you see where I'm going with this? EVEN the beautiful Audrey Hepburn didn't see herself as beautiful. There were even accounts of a couple of people she worked with who stated that they did not think she was beautiful but she "Moved people" and that was a great thing to have in a star.

So, the next time you look in the mirror and find NOTHING you like, remember that the beautiful Audrey Hepburn couldn't find much to like about herself either.  The next time some one makes a negative comment about you and it stings, remember that there were people who didn't think Audrey Hepburn was beautiful.  Look in the mirror and remind yourself that beauty is in the eye of the beholder . . . and it's not a competition.  I don't have to be tall to be beautiful.  I don't have to be tan to be beautiful.  I can have a nose that I think is too big.  A nose that is crooked.  I can have freckles and huge eyes and a goofy smile and STILL be beautiful.

It's easy to forget this.  I have a friend who NEEDS to be reminded of this right now and this blog entry is for her.  You ARE beautiful. The mirror is a cruel liar sometimes . . . it's time to set it straight. ;)