December 8 – Beautifully Different
Think about what makes you different and what you do that lights people up. Reflect on all the things that make you different – you’ll find they’re what make you beautiful. (Author: Karen Walrond)
As I sit here in a Starbucks in the heart of the uniquely different Commerical Drive neighborhood of Vancouver, I look around me and I’m struck by all the fabulously different people that sit here too. The man in the pageboy cap that enters intensely, talking on his cell-phone, looks around and then leaves. The 3 women talking excitedly about becoming Avon reps. The two moms with the gorgeous curly-haired children. The rumpled man in the corner staring suspiciously around the coffee shop. The two mom-preneurs with their laptops out, deep in discussion, deep in planning. The raucous group of four middle-aged men (newly retired?). The older man in a ballcap sharing uncomfortable silence with the younger man in a ballcap. And then there’s me.
The girl with the awesome boots and cozy sweater, sipping her chai latte and typing feverishly, while simultaneously listening in on everyone’s conversation and trying not to be too obvious about it. What makes me different from these people?
I’m the girl that loves pink, but rarely wears it. I’m the girl that craves red gumboots, and loves to stand in the rain. I’m the girl that lives off laughter, but would die without silence. I’m the girl that believes a smile can make a difference in anyone’s day.
I’ll do anything to make you laugh. I’m authentically and genuinely curious. I’m contagious and I’m subtle, and I know when to be one and not the other.
I’m playful, surprising and honest. I have a song in my head at all times. I want to hear your story and I wholeheartedly believe you can do anything.
I believe in Santa Claus, and toothfairies, and karma, and fate – not as ethereal, unexplained and magical things, but as manifestations of our own incredible faith, goodness and kindness. I believe in people.
I’m the girl that would rather believe that you’re just having a bad day, than you’re an asshole.
I’m the girl that believes, at the heart of it all, that we all want the same things – love, compassion, understanding, kindness – and we all deserve those things. The way we receive those things and the way we give them might be different, and that’s what makes each of us beautifully unique.