Quotes and Inspirational Thoughts about Inner Strength and Beauty
By Chatkath
Beauty is but a light in the heart
While editing a hub earlier, I couldn't help but notice a question off to the right, "Beauty is not from the face...beauty is a light in the heart ..
agree ???"
And while I completely agree with this statement, it does not end there and remains a part of the human condition that I have been trying to figure out for a long time! While outer physical beauty, however subjective, is too often the deciding factor when first meeting someone, ("send me more pictures please....") I can usually tell relatively soon, what is in a person's heart and what lights their soul -- The true determining factor of beauty without a doubt!
Unfortunately it is not always so simple, unless you are a fortune teller, since people change evolve, grow, and sometimes become different individuals altogether with goals that may seem inconsistent with your own...Does this mean that they are no longer beautiful? Not necessarily, because they may remain, with that same light in their heart but no longer appealing to you.
But what happens when you meet someone and for whatever reason you are blindsided by a more deceitful kind of beauty. Believing their heart is, shall we say - yours to adore, but really they are simply playing a role. A bit part rehearsed to perfection in a play called "the love of my life". They are, at first whatever you want them to be: sharing, caring, supportive and true but eventually the evil twin rears his ugly head and the beauty is now a beast.
I think it is really a shame that we are unable, as a civilized society (for the most part) to focus more on what lies beneath. When children begin school and the social acceptance cycle begins, so ignites the beauty "ideal" and even at that young age, we are already beginning to judge one another based on looks. We can all remember the painful and relentless teasing that occurred when we were young, everyone had their own insecurities even if no one knew what they were. How can we change this so that our children grow up to be more open minded, less judgmental adults? Most likely when parents and role models are able to emphasize the beauty of giving and helping others, children will follow, recognizing that true beauty and strength do indeed come from a light in the heart. Outer beauty is just that, a superficial ideal that will never withstand the test of time.
Inspiration
Favorite Inner Beauty Quotes
~The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched.
They must be felt with the heart.~
- Helen Keller
~ Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart. ~
- Kahill Gibran
~ Some people, no matter how old they get, never lose their beauty - they merely move it from their faces into their hearts. ~
- Martin Buxbaum
~Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful,
we must carry it with us or we find it not.~
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Favorite Inner Strength Quotes
~Find a place inside where there's joy,
and the joy will burn out the pain.~
- Joseph Campbell
~The snow goose need not bathe to make itself white.
Neither need you do anything but be yourself.~
-
Lao Tzu
~You have to grow from the inside out.
None can teach you, none can make you spiritual.
There is no other teacher but your own soul.~
- Swami Vivekananda
~To thine own self be true.~
- William Shakespeare
Authentic Beauty
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Find Your Inner Beauty
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Read More by Chatkath on Beauty
- Lemon Aids for Natural Beauty and Health
When life gives you lemons, rejoice! You have found a free and natural product that has multiple beauty and health applications. Good as gold and joyful as the sunny yellow jackets that they wear, let a lemon brighten your life! - Beauty & the Beast of Time: Growing Old Gracefully
Beauty does not have to be a beast, however frightening the loss of that physical beauty ideal may be to some. The true definition of beauty must be clarified in order for one to mature with grace and style. - Naturally Green Sheen: Make your own Chemical-Free Lip Gloss
We can't ignore all of the warnings about chemicals and additives, especially when it comes to anything we may ingest. DIY Natural make up becomes more appealing everyday, and you can't beat the price! - Natural and Economical Lip Beauty: Tips for a Younger, Smoother Looking Mouth
Have fun Smiling! Lip beauty basics with ingredients from your own kitchen cupboard. Tricks and treats for a fuller looking pout. Mirror-mirror on the wall Radiate from within since home made confidence creates the most beautiful of them all
Comments
Kathy dear ~ This is my second visit here. I needed to read this lovely and "feel good" hub again. When I receive heart-breaking news from any member of my family, I always turn to an article of beauty to keep myself centered.
So, it is 1:10 pm here in Nashville and as I read through your hub feelings of sadness are slowly replaced with feelings of "everything is ok."
Emerson is one of my favorite writers. Thank you for quoting him. "Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful,
we must carry it with us or we find it not.~
How very true! And I see the beauty in you, dear Cathy and in your writing. Isn't it amazing? We write a hub, never knowing how powerful that hub may eventually be to another person. Thank you and God Bless.
vocalcoach~
Thanks Kathryn, yes is can definitely be quite surprising and a reminder that we must continually try to look deeper - with an open mind of course (lol)....
We always hope that the beauty on the outside is a reflection of what is on the inside. It often turns out to NOT be the case. It is always suprising when that happens. isn't it ?.
Wow, could not agree more Martie, i guess life itself is the ultimate growth experience and I truly like myself more now - As I have ripened into a woman who has learned that true beauty is indeed not found at the makeup counter. Thank you for your contribution to the hub!
This is so true: "... since people change evolve, grow, and sometimes become different individuals altogether with goals that may seem inconsistent with your own..."
However, you never lose anything you are, you merely grow... into ripeness that may be bitter, sour or sweet. Like fruit on a tree.
To be beautiful - according to fashion - demands a lot of time and energy I prefer to spend on something that can enrich my soul and broaden my mind.
Tip: If you want to feel and therefor be beautiful, you can do it in a second with one thought: "I am beautiful." My sister has a different thought for anything in this line: "I can be just as beautiful/clever/smart if I want to be like her."
Relevant topic, Chatkath, voted up and insightful.
Thank you kiproner, so nice to see you. Well said, I couldn't agree with you more.
"Beauty is not from the face...beauty is a light in the heart .. agree ???" when everything else fades , the only thing that remains is that charming beauty from the inside
Thank you itops, I am so glad you had a chance to come by!
Nicely worded! Loved the quotes! Thumbs up! :)
Thank you HBN, You are right, Helen Keller's words are so true, she had an advantage, not a disability because of her attitude. Incredible! Thanks so much for visiting!
I so enjoyed this hub and liked the way you placed the quotes about inner strength and inner beauty side by side.
This quote by Helen Keller is my favorite: ~The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched.
They must be felt with the heart.~
How amazing that someone who was blind could teach the reach of us the true meaning of beauty.
Rated up, useful, beautiful, awesome and interesting.
I couldn't agree more Kitty, you are an old soul to be so wise :-) Thanks so much for stopping in!
Thanks Phoenix, very sweet of you to visit! Double the fun! talk soon.....
I thought this seemed familiar, I hadalready commented but oh well and extra comment wont hurt, I guess:)
I really like quotes and this is a great selection of quotes. Well done. Rated up and everything else!
What an inspirational hub! Beauty definitely comes from within. What good is a person who has no self-worth or self-appreciation? Hollywood stars are a prime example of this. They may be beautiful on screen, but how many are beautiful in person? How many are actually horribly selfish people that have no inner beauty?
Thank you twentyfive, so nice of you to visit - it is always nice to see you!
Loved the last one, "embracing imperfection is the true beauty"
And who better to recognize beauty than one with so much depth and beauty -in her soul K9 you are amazing- your words make my heart smile. You are so incredibly talented beautiful one.
"~Find a place inside where there's joy,
and the joy will burn out the pain.~" - Joseph Campbell
This is profound and deeply meaningful, and has always been among my favorite inspiring works.
For you CK:
"You are beautiful, as I can find your light beaming from a distance great...
You are beautiful, as I can hear your inner soul within the peace you create...
You are beautiful, I can sense that which beats full of love from your convex place...
You are beautiful, I can find you among all things wonderfully flush with grace...
You... are... beautiful..." -K9
I adore this hub.
K9
You are so right Sandy! Thanks so much for your true inspiration!
Great Hub! I agree you can't always judge a book by it's cover. Sometimes you think a person is so nice and wonderful but your inner self is telling you something is not right. This is called a covert personality. Love the quotes!
Well, Thank you Realhousewife - So nice of you to comment. I appreciate your visit and your support!
I upped and everything on this! This piece is BEAUTIFUL:) Excellent message here!
Beauty fades people's!
Thank you Audrey! It is unfortunate that it takes so long to learn these things, but I think you are right, the more that we get the message out the better! You are such a light at the end of a dark tunnel, I do appreciate your inspiration!
I want to thank you for this marvelous hub, Kathy. So full of wisdom and truth. This is a subject that needs to be taught in school at a young age, and a refresher course given every year. Our youth worship outer beauty and its a shame. Well, I'm going to link this hub to other sites, such as stumbleupon, digg, triond, FB, Bukisa and forward on to friends too. At least it's a start in the right direction. Thank you for your light and thank you for your loving heart. vocalcoach
Thank you for commenting Sun-Girl, I had the help of all these great quotes! I am glad that you had a chance to visit!
Lovely hub which is well shared.
Thank you b. - and you are so right. There is nothing more unfortunate than someone who has lived their younger years relying on superficial beauty only to find that it does not stand the test of time, inner beauty & strength will sustain one indefinitely! I am so glad that you enjoyed quotes--I like them also! Cheers!
Beauty is so superficial...here to today...Gone tomorrow. Today's woman needs to be so much more, inside (good brains) as well as out...She should walk like she respects herself and others will admire...I so Enjoyed this Hub, not only was it Educational Chatkath, but it was also BEAUTIFUL and INSPIRING...Loved the "Quotes" you chose as well.
I totally understand what you are saying Kathy! That's what I like about you! lol
I think that you are very genuine and so much more beautiful because of your caring, giving and kindness to animals and people. I also believe in karma and although I don't understand why things are so cruel in this world sometimes I still believe that we must try to look beyond it. Yeah, easier said than done! I am so glad to came by and left this comment! I appreciate it!
Have a nice weekend!
Kathy, I think what is really unfortunate is that many see the "beauty is on the inside," "judge not a book by its cover," etc. as "excuses" or the consulation prize for not feeling, not being considered or just not the "beauty" society places so much value in. Like, "yeah, so they say, but not as (most) they really do." We must get over this and actually understand true beauty as you, obviously, do. The exterior is just a shell...of course, as we all know, I doubt the "jetsetters;" the "prestigious and powerful" care about depth (now, I know this is a stereotype..I'm just using it to illustrate what I'm trying to say) ... which is: some people feel so powerful, so strong, are so egotistical that they don't "need" such things as "beauty is on the inside." Some of us live in a much more shallow world in which "I've got the world on a string..." feeling as if support and understanding are not necessary...even seen as weakness. Am I making any sense? I'm not doing a very good job of this but, I think maybe someone will get it!!?? LOL
Anyway, a very very good and sensitive and real hub in my humble opinion. thank you Kath!!
Eiddwen-
Your positive nature is quite contagious and I simply love reading your hubs and your comments. Your strength and spirit both shine through - in all that you do!
Thank you so much.
Hi Chatkath,
This one is brilliant and I agree with you 100% on all your views.
'Find a place where there is joy, and the joy will burn out the pain !!'
So very true.
You are a great writer and your style is so natural,
Carry on writing and I will carry on reading.
Take care
Eiddwen.
Thanks MM- Well, we made it! It is Friday, on a positive and most inspiring note, I am so glad that you popped in - Let's look forward to a great weekend!
Good morning Chatkath,
This is well said, so true, and leaves the reader with many new hopes for making things better, thanks for sharing, have an awesome day,
MM
An absolute pleasure to see you TCM Specialist! I know exactly what you mean - I should probably put post-its all over with quotes and affirmations written on them. Thanks, I am glad you came by to visit!
BAMM your articles hit home, again! I love this! Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, just like one mans trash is anothers mans treasure. I notice on the days that I'm feeling as if I am walking on cloud 9 that my inner beauty shines through for all to see.
Another winning hub! Keep up the good work, sweety!
Thanks PhoenixV - Quotes are amazing, especially when you read one that expresses exactly how you feel! So good to see that you stopped by!
I liked the Lao Tzu quote. Voted up- I like quotes
Thank you dear Epi, you have the ability to bring out such wonderful qualities in everyone with your kind and nurturing heart. And then there's your sense of humor! I too am so glad to have met you! One in a million you are!
Thanks Wendy, I am glad that you enjoyed the quotes, I love reading quotes, some really stand out and actually inspire me & make me think :-)
.....well I always find inner strength and beauty within you Kathy ... so glad that fate hooked us up together -and always so happy to hear from you as I admire you as a person and as a writer ....
wow graet collection of quotes;;; "You have to grow from the inside out.
None can teach you, none can make you spiritual.
There is no other teacher but your own soul "
super liked !!!!!
voted up
Amazing how that works isn't it? :-D Thank you for your testimonial Green Lotus.LOL
A "beautiful" hub in the fullest sense of the word. Thanks for your uplifting words. I can feel my face doing the same :)
Thanks Nell, I know, as much as we miss younger days sometimes, that is one thing I would never like to relive is the incessant teasing! That is just the way it is until we grow older & understand empathy (most of us anyway!)
Your are the best Epi! You do have a way of seeing the beauty in everyone and bringing that out with your support and kindness! Thank you!!
Kathy since we met I have to truly say that you have an inner strength and beauty and I admire everything that you do and write - it was a good day that we hooked up through our mutual friend Darlene where I first saw you - and I love your passion for life and your 'expertise' behind everything you write and of course your love for animals .....
Hi, so true! I can remember being picked on because I had acne! and did they pick on me! children can be so cruel, but as you said, they follow the adults! I know many people who are lovely to look at, but underneath they are just horrible! beauty is what is in the soul and heart, totally true! cheers nell
Thank you RP - it is so good to nice to see you!
So true Chatkath! Great hub, love the Inner Strength quotes. Voted up and beautiful!
Thanks Sharyn, we do appreciate that inner beauty more, because it is what you carry with you forever. Superficial beauty fades with time, if you have nothing else you are but a shell...
So right you are Kathi - One good thing about the aging process I think. We become more secure with ourselves and don't have that need to be something we are not!
Wonderful insights here CK! Great quotes too! It is so important to look inside for true beauty. I do agree with fossillady that as we age and gain wisdom, we appreciate inner beauty more. Thanks for sharing!
Sharyn
I think my favorite quote is "to thine own self be true"! A person with a beautiful face can be deceptively ugly inside! I think as we get older and gain wisdom, we appreciate the inner beauty more and more!
Thank you for your incredibly thoughtful comments RT, that's how I ended up writing a hub on this because the subject does provoke so many feelings and thoughts. You are right, it is just the tip of the iceberg isn't it? I am so glad you came by & shared your perspective!
Hi Svetlana-
No I know, I was just kidding about the contest, simply because I know you of all people would not even go there and definitely not the tone of our chat... It is funny if you think about it though...
At the same time "beauty" or one's perception of it has caused so much insanity...I like the way you refer to it as a "limited existence". Exactly, there is so much more!
Very thought provoking hub you've written here.
The purpose of deceit is to deceive, and the kind of "love of my life" predator that you speak of is adept at the art of deceit. It's heartbreaking business that takes place too often. Those kind of people have a knack of knowing just what their victim wants to hear and then saying it convincingly. Actions speak louder than words, though, don't they?
I couldn't help but smile at the truth of your opening comments, though, because they reminded me of the next to last verse of Proverbs 31, "Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised" (ESV). (The same principle is found throughout Scripture for both men and women, btw.)
We don't think often enough about what it means to "fear" the Lord according to His Word. We miss out on the wisdom we need for all our relationships, the insight we need when we something blindsides us, and the mystery of His help when we are up against an impossibility. I'm smiling at myself as I write this because I can't adequately express it all--this is just the tip of the iceberg! :)
I get busy with my doings for a day and its very refreshing to pause and think through some of His truths. :) Thanks much for a posting that caused me to stop and think about God's view of this topic.
Your last line, "Outer beauty is just that, a superficial ideal that will never withstand the test of time" is a great quote!
No, Kathy, my answer to the question "Am I Beautiful? is "it's irrelevant".
Beautiful, not beautiful - what difference does it make to me? I don't have to look at myself.
I don't really understand why it bothers me so much. That is the question. No contest on that one. It is not about "beautification".
Women who are obsessed with beautification and fashion are of no interest to me. I find it ... limited existence.
Svetlana, I deleted one, that has happened to me too, no HP response so I post again and then there are two!
Ha, for your next award winning hub: "Am I Beautiful"? That is good for you to take on my dear Svetlana, but only if beauty is truth will you win....otherwise I guess we could enter you in a Miss Hub beauty contest? hmmmm.
Kathy - I am sorry - there are two comments, two of the same - HP was not responsive when I typed it and I pushed the button twice (maybe I pushed it more than twice even). You can delete the extra one.
On beauty: I am not comfortable if anyone tells me "You are beautiful". I thought on the subject of beauty a lot like you and I even decided to write a hub "Am I Beautiful?" - I even told my friends - that was the plan.
But when they asked me what it will be about, I said "I don't know". Very strange. Don't you find?
So nice to see you Treasuresofheaven! Thank you for coming by. Quotes are especially fun, it's hard to narrow it down though - there are so many good ones!
Thank you Prasetio-I am so glad you had a chance to stop by - my beautiful & inspirational friend!
Thank you Svetlana - I truly value your most genuine feedback! Beauty can be very delusional and I think you are right about the eyes, as the well known quote "The eyes are the window of the soul" seems to have multiple authors with slightly different variations of the same message!? So I would say that the eyes are a very good indicator of what's inside, if one is paying attention!
Nicely done and layed out! Love the quotes. Vote Up!!
You made this so beautiful. All these poems inspired me much. Well done, my friend. You got my VOTE. Cheers....
Prasetio
It is amazing how complete is the delusion that beauty is goodness. ~Leo Tolstoy
I judge beauty differently. The dead giveaway is always emptiness of the eyes. Lack of intellect ... boring.
What is beautiful or what is not is very subjective, even though I might admit I am drawn to beauty as everybody else. But to be able to see beauty and not the image that has been advertised - that is very hard especially for those who don't think for themselves.
They have to be told "parameters" - waist, hips, lipstick colour. Otherwise it is lame and pathetic. Or fat. Or something else. Those "judges" are the cruelest for they are brainless.
Chatkath 4 months ago
It is amazing and so are you Audrey! You are one of the most caring souls I have ever met, especially on cyberspace. I think that is one of the really satisfying things about writing, making a connection because someone else is able to reach out and share a part of themselves. You have helped me more than once, I am overjoyed that these quotes brought you a moment of peace! I will visit later my friend to see what you have been up to!