Okay, what on earth is going on?

I am worried about you people.  You see, I have been having a ball putting up "You Are Beautiful" Post-It notes in the spirit of Operation Beautiful, all over the place.  It has taken a bit of imagination.  Since I am a paraplegic and since it is *still* winter in Saskatchewan, and since I am *still* recovering from surgery on my hands earlier this month, I run errands from the driver's seat of my van whenever possible.  (Wheelchair users "get" this; we know where all the full-serve gas stations are, the ATMs you can drive up to, and the drive-thru coffee spots).  So I put my notes up in these kind of places: above the speaker on my favourite coffee drive-thru; on the bottom of the debit machine I used to pay for lunch; and on to the bathroom mirror at my doctor's office (another place I frequent). 

Why I am worried is because I also "posted" virtual Post-It notes in emails and on facebook pages, reminding friends, both men and women, that they are beautiful.  I couldn't make this act anonymous, but I thought it would be fun to do it anyway.  Some of them just thanked me, very few did not respond, but many more said things like, "I haven't heard that in a long time," "I don't think of myself as beautiful," and "Are you sure you meant me?" 

But possibly the most alarming was how my daughter responded.  I told her about Operation Beautiful and how we would do some of this Post-It Note-ing together.  Maybe she was just trying to understand how it all works and maybe I shouldn't read anything more than that into her question, but when she asked me, "What if the wrong people find the notes?" I had to stop everything we were doing and talk about it.

"There are no wrong people, honey," I said.  "Everyone is beautiful." 

Oh, readers.  There is much work to do within ourselves, for others, and in our big, old beautiful world.  Let me leave you with this paragraph.  You probably know it or have heard it.  The original is written by Marianne Williamson although many believed Nelson Mandela said it first.  It has been quoted in the movies, Invictus and Akeela and the Bee.  Here is the version from the movie Coach Carter:  

"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. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do. It's not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own lights shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” (Bold font is mine.)

wishing you faith in your own beauty,
hk