The Ugly Duckling grew up to become a swan, but face it, some of us start as ugly ducklings and end up as geese—a little more loud and defensive and a whole lot less elegant and serene. Perhaps someday those who have dissed us will wake up and see our true beauty, but for now we’d better start with recognizing our own beauty for ourselves.
What beautiful thing do you see about yourself that others tend to miss?
In just a moment the ladybug will “fly away home,” but for this second it stays perched, a tiny jewel adorning one small and slightly grubby finger.
What tiny treasure has brightened your day today?
The blossom neither looks nor smells nor tastes anything like the fruit it will become, and yet the apple is there, the harvest implicit in the first flowers.
What inside of you is waiting to appear, given the proper conditions and enough time?
You know you want to. One big puff and the seeds will scatter in that satisfying burst of flying fluff that you remember so well from childhood. Only now you know that you would be planting hundreds of dandelions that you would only have to pull up later.
What looks different to you now than it did in your childhood?
Vines flower on the face of ancient walls. Trees grow in the cracks between alpine rocks. Wherever, however, life manages to find a way.
How have you managed to create beauty in an inhospitable environment?
