What is beautiful; what is pretty

This week, friends and I had a discussion between beautiful and pretty. I was wondering if there is a difference. Good old Google search explained.

How it started was my friend’s husband was asking me about seeing better. I suggested he consider finding what is beautiful two times a day then share it. We tend to look straight ahead or in the rear view mirror of our lives, missing out on the beauty that is right here, right now.

The definition of pretty is what is on the outside: face, hair, dress, and outfit, petals on a flower, the sunrise or sunset. Beautiful is looking at the whole person including what radiates from the inside out. How a person interacts, the kindness, the soul that glows.  The inner beauty can make it a smiling day.

So Donna came in with some daffodils that were beautiful. I can feel the inner energy that adds to their glow. Nothing says spring to me than sunny daffodils. Her husband commented on them as being beautiful.

The next day, he came out of his “man cave” and said something so heart-warming, I thought Donna was going to cry. He spent time in there thinking about what is beautiful. He called her his darling wife and how beautiful she was for taking care of him through his health crisis. She was so stunned that he opened his heart to that kind of beauty. I could feel that he really meant it from his heart, not just off his sleeve.

So I encourage all us to spend a few moments looking for the beautiful, beyond the pretty. I believe it can change our inner world view and our outer one, too.