That Je ne sais quoi...

Have you ever stopped to think about people you have met or even admired from afar that are just irresistibly attractive? But not so much physically beautiful as much as what the French say: they have a “je ne sais quoi” (an I don’t know what).

I think that “I don’t know what” is sparked by inner beauty. A beauty that arises perhaps from self-confidence, carriage, demeanor, humor, style, wisdom, compassion, and gratitude. All these characteristics, whether alone and certainly combined, are more powerful than any makeup brush or designer dress.

Inner beauty exudes calm and invites the observer to be part of that beauty. It is not selfish; it wants to share. I believe we all intrinsically have inner beauty yet our social pressures and upbringing have many times discouraged our natural beauty from flourishing. If you observe a young child they see beauty for what it is and derive great joy from it…when a mom is telling her 3-year-old to hurry up but the child is busy looking at a butterfly, the child doesn’t care about time or upsetting his mother, it cares about the beauty before him.

Delighting in life, living in the now, seeing miracles in the simplest of things, gives you a glow that reflects inner beauty. People around you will be charmed and will hold a special place for you…not because you look great, because you are great.