Surprised by Beauty

Beginning of article

I WAS AWAY on a retreat recently when the mirror surprised me. Normally, I can hardly bear to see my own face in the mornings, so it was only by chance that I happened to glance into the mirror as I turned on the light switch. There was my face looking back at me. My wet hair was sticking up every which way, and water was trickling down the side of my nose. And I was smiling. Pleased with the person I saw there, I smiled in return.

Then it hit me. For the first time in my whole life I was looking in the mirror and liking what I saw. I was happy at the sight of my own face; I was enjoying the shape of it, the appearance of my eyes and mouth, my nose and wet, silly hair. In that moment, I found myself beautiful.

I found myself beautiful? What a terrible thing for a polite person, especially a religious person, to say. But I don't mean "pretty"; after all, "pretty" has no more to do with "beautiful" than "nice" has to do with "good." "Pretty" is measured against another standard. It is a comparative term, having more to do with what our culture tells us we ought to look like if we are to be …