Life Without Makeup
Life Without Makeup by Karen Lea
Life without makeup and sequins makes our journey in life so much bigger than we know. And we never know how big life can be until we sit back contemplating one single minute of a day, all while thinking - WOW - the universe really does know what it is doing!
During the holiday season of 2023, I had a student tell me that she really appreciated everything I did for her in my dance class. When I first signed up for your class, she said, I was in a very dark place in my life. And while I saw a difference in her character from when she had first started taking lessons - I did not know why until that day.
I wanted to tell you that you helped me a lot and you also helped me to see beyond the darkness - how to laugh and have fun again.
Her smile confirmed what she was saying was true. And I thanked her for sharing something so intimate with me. Unbeknownst to her, I was also in a darkened place. Without her gratitude and acknowledgment, I would have never known I had helped her.
I have been struggling mostly with my place in life - wondering what I will do with the rest of it. I love teaching. I always have. But I also like helping people. And when you help someone out of the darkness, life becomes so much bigger within you and your soul than questioning your own life.
So here is one of my points. Have you ever met and spoken to someone and known deep inside of you that you are in that person’s path for a reason? Even if it is just for one single moment in time? Perhaps after you listened to them, really heard them, smiled, and glowed in their acknowledgment, all while taking them and yourself into a better place?
I have been lucky enough to have that happen to me several times. And this particular conversation made me think about all of those other random times. Times when the universe chose me to be in that exact spot I was supposed to be in - when another human being happened to need something more in their life. And not as a tangible gift but as a single exchange of respect - a moment between two human beings who could help each other by changing their outlook with mere words and honesty.
I am writing this mostly to remind myself of what I spoke about in my blog about angels. While many of us, do not believe we can be angels, in all reality we can be so-called human angels. Angels that are placed at the right time when the universe needs help, to help others. And sometimes just a smile can change the disposition of another person and how they think - maybe even forever.
One can never really know when someone in our life experiences a day much worse than our own. And without the makeup and the sequins, we as human beings have the power to change anyone’s day even by being in their presence.
I know that life is supposed to be fun but sometimes it is not and when life becomes - not fun and hard and it challenges us beyond our limits of sanity, sometimes another human being does have more power than we think to help change someone's day. Or if we are lucky enough, like I was that day - altering a complete outlook because of two people who were just being who they are. And all it took was a simple moment when both parties happened to need something extra from somebody - a human being just like them.
So, for anyone who may not know why I kept repeating life without makeup and sequins, it is because life can be really simple without the glamour. And without the façade of our egos, with or without money, and with or without a tangible gift - and certainly without anything material - we have more power than we think to change someone’s world because of what is inside of us.
We are all connected minus all of that worldly charm, we see every day because our egos are not born, they are developed. And egos do not connect two human beings - it is the life force of our souls that connects all of us.
Mother Theresa once said - “We have forgotten that we belong to one another.” Belonging to one another - meaning we are all connected without the makeup and sequins. And because of that connection, we are capable of being understanding, kind, and helping each other in times of trouble and in times of need.
“We have forgotten that we belong to one another.” Maybe we could begin to remember!