That one line from the movie adaption "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" has stuck with me since I saw the movie in theaters around Christmastime 2013.
Walter Mitty is in the Himalayas tracking down world famous photographer Sean O'Connell who is photographing the "Ghost Cat" or snow leopard. When Mitty finds O'Connell he is about to take a photo of the gorgeous elusive cat. But he doesn't. He just stares at it and lets it walk by. Missing the shot of a lifetime.
Mitty asks O'Connell why he would do such a thing--let the photograph he is there for slip through fingers?
O'Connell replies that sometimes when looking at something so beautiful, he likes being in the moment. Observing something so beautiful without the distraction of his camera.
Picture taken from this blog (pathdiscoveries.wordpress.com/2014/05/28/beautiful-things-dont-ask-for-attention-james-thurber/)
Then he says-
"Beautiful Things Don't Ask For Attention."
What does that mean?
To me, it means that something beautiful doesn't have to tell others it is beautiful. It just IS.
Where does this true, outstanding beauty come from? When it pertains to us as daughters and children of God, I think it comes from knowing who we are. And WHOSE we are.
When we realize our potential and worth as children of God, we don't need to ask for attention. We don't need to use our bodies, or show them off, to be told we are beautiful. When our self worth is vertically connected to our Father in Heaven instead of horizontally connected to our peers, that cute guy that took us on a date or people we compare ourselves to, our true beauty and worth can shine through. (The idea of horizontal vs. vertical connection for self worth comes from my most favorite Institute teacher, Brother Hunsaker at the Logan LDS Institute.)
When someone knows WHO and WHOSE they are, they understand why He has asked them to dress modestly. They don't need to use immodest dress to get attention, to be told they are beautiful so they themselves can believe that they are beautiful. They. Just. Are. And they know it.
When I was a freshman in college I had a couple classes with this guy I liked. We spent lots and LOTS of time together. One time he told me, "I just need to find a girl with your personality".
Ouch.
I headed to Institute after this conversation to attend class with my best friend (who I've known since birth.) Mckenna has a gift. Since I was little she's always been able to say exactly what I need to hear exactly when I need to hear it. She's just cool like that.
I sat in my seat, Kenna walked in, sat by me and instantly asked what was wrong. I told her nothing. We started to sing the opening song and I started to cry. I got up and went to the bathroom and Kenna followed. While I sat on the bathroom floor crying, she asked what was wrong. I told her what that boy had said to me. Then I said "Kenna, I'm just not good enough. I'm not pretty enough. There is something wrong with me. I'm the ONLY one with MY personality, and if he can't like me, than there has to be something wrong!"
That's when Kenna got mad. She looked me in the eye and said, "You are a beautiful daughter of God. Don't you EVER let ANYONE make you feel like you are less than you are."
Then we ate some chocolate.
Something changed in me that day. She was right. I AM a beautiful daughter of God and never again was I going to let what someone said to me, or thought of me, change that FACT in my mind.
I know WHOSE I am. I know WHO I am. I know my potential as a daughter of God, and I don't need to dress to show off my body to impress a boy. Guess what? The boys who want you to dress immodestly are not the type of boys you want anyway! You want a MAN who will love that you know who you are. You want a MAN who loves that you keep your standards. You want a MAN who loves that you respect yourself enough to dress modestly. He will see your true, God-given beauty. And he will love it.
You are a beautiful daughter of God. And beautiful things don't ask for attention.
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