When I was a child, my mother told my sister, who had a 10-inch, very visible and nasty scar on her arm, “Nancy, if you ignore the scar, other people will ignore it. It does not mean they will not notice it, because they will. But, it means it will not matter to them if it doesn’t matter to you.” I passed this wisdom on to my son.

He took my advice to heart and returned to school with his head held high — glad he was alive. By the end of the six-month waiting period, he decided that the scars did not matter and did not define who he was. So he made the decision to forgo any plastic surgery.

We all have scars and flaws that we believe cause people to shun us. And we spend a lot of time thinking that if only we looked differently, or dressed differently, or could have more money, or a different and newer car, people would like us better. But you see, like Keaton’s scars, people will only judge you by your looks IF you are judging yourself by these same false standards.

What about your scars and flaws? Do you let them define who you are? Do you really believe that other people care about what is only on the surface? Or are you able to look beneath your skin and see the beautiful person residing within? Today, put your imperfections out of your mind and concentrate on what you value within yourself.

If you can see that beautiful person, every one with will see the same beauty.

Let your beauty shine through. — Beliefnet.com (Concluded)