It’s funny how a person (me) who used to aim for perfection (ha!) now finds beauty in less-than-perfect things.
That photograph of the brick wall that I used for today’s quote? I took it while I was on a tour of the Seattle Underground last month. Interesting story, that. The tour consists of walking the main streets and first-floor storefronts of old downtown Seattle. I took photos of darkened doorways, crumbling arches, abandoned beds — yes, really! — and old school desks.
All of it old … worn … fragile with age … and to my photographer’s eye, all of it beautiful.
All I could think was how people used to walk these brick streets. Someone sat at that desk. Someone slept in that bed. People lived here. There were stories all around me.
When I focused on the brick wall, I knew I’d use it for a blog post. It was old. Cracked. Marred. And one day it would be perfect for a quote.
Today.
You may think of yourself as imperfect. You may be that person who puts their hands up when the camera is pointed at them and says, “Don’t take my picture!” Maybe you’re thinking, “I’m not ready.” Or maybe you’re thinking, “I’m not pretty.”
But beauty isn’t about perfection. And you, my friend, can leave beauty marks on this world when you free yourself to leave bits of yourself — yes, you! — on the world. Imperfectly, beautiful you.
In Your Words: What imperfectly beautiful things do you love?
[Tweet “In Others’ Words: Bits of Yourself and Beauty Marks #InOthersWords #lifequotes #beauty”] [Tweet “” … the only way to ever leave beauty marks on the world is with bits of yourself.” #quotes @AnnVoskamp #beauty”]
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I’m excited! In one month, my next e-novella, You Can’t Hurry Love, releases. If you receive my newsletter you got a first look at this lovely new cover — isn’t it romantic and fun? To celebrate, let’s have a bit more fun shall we? Pre-order the novella for only 99 cents by next Friday, April 15. Then leave a comment on my Author Facebook page with your order confirmation number and I’ll enter you to win a $25 Amazon gift card! Purchase here: http://amzn.to/1RZ2BBY.
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Comments 5
One of the most beautiful women I’ve ever known would not have won a beauty contest, but oh, how she changed lives. I love this post!
Author
I find the more I know people … the more I fall in love with people … the less I notice what they look like, but the more beautiful they become.
Being an Asian Adonis, I both deserve and demand beauty and perfection in my surroundings. Beautiful People were made for MY pleasure.
Yeah. Well.
A long time ago barbara and I were in a Pier One store, when an unruly child knocked over a large decorative plate. It shattered into many, many pieces, and both parents and manager were upset. The kid seemed unfazed. He’s probably running for office now, looking for bigger things to break.
I offered to buy the plate for half-price, and clean up the mess, and everyone was happy. Except my wife; she thought I had lost my mind. (That actually happened years before I met her, but of that, more anon.)
It took months to glue the thing back into a semblance of its former self, but it sits atop a cabinet in the kitchen now, a reminder that something saved can be much more meaningful than something new, and that we are beholden to save the scarred, because by Scars we are saved.
Author
I. LOVE. This. Story.
So, so much.
Truth.
I love the cover of the book, Beth. It looks magical.