When I read this fifth quality of an Uncommon Beauty
In the train today,
I couldn't wait to get my hands on my laptop to share with you
How rare and precious,
How Graciousness beautifies anybody.
I know this will seem like an extensive body of words,
But please take time to chew on each point.
I promise if you reflect on them
And experiment this quality in your life,
You'll look much prettier (and more handsome) than now.
Graciousness very often mistaken for the fourth quality, Selflessness.
But in close examination,
Both virtues are distinctly unique to its own.
*
A selfless woman is beautiful because
She doesn't focus on herself;
She has no pretence.
A measure of her selflessness is in
Her giving and serving to others.
While a Gracious person
Focuses on others,
Her Graciousness is measured by
Her Kindness,
Her Mercy, and
That 'air' of Grace she carries.
A Gracious person is Generous with
His Time,
His Possessions, and
His Lives.
He enjoys being Gracious to others.
True Graciousness does bring joy
To the one being Gracious.
King Solomon, the wisest man in history confirms this in one of his provers,
'Your own soul is nourished
When you are kind.'
So how do you know how Gracious you are today?
Heald wrote that the infallible test of being a Gracious person
Is
How you respond when the unexpected happens.
Even in the awkwardness of a misunderstanding,
A Gracious person can be
Courteous,
Kind, and
Helpful.
This is the mark of a Gracious person.
It is not easy to forgive or to be gracious,
Especially when we have been maligned or misunderstood.
But
Circumstances do not dictate a Gracious person's response.
A Gracious person is a
Grace Giver,
Even to those who seem undeserving.
On the flip-side,
Bitterness makes us hard, unhappy and unattractive.
Lillian, a 99 year-old lady has an endearing face that's wrinkled from smiling so much.
Lillian's gracius spirit didn't result from a comfortable life.
She has experience, in her words,
''...family feuds and several broken relationships.''
When asked how she lived so long and done so well,
Lillian's profound reply was,
''I just refused to be offended.''
What a cool granny!
Heald thinks what makes a person in refusing to be offended
Is the
Desire to forgive and
To release others
When he/she's been harmed.
It is deciding that
Forgiveness is always the best choice.
Now,
Being Gracious does not mean that we don't experience pain
When we've been wounded,
But it does mean that
We are willing to deal with pain
And to come out on the side of grace
How can we acquire a gracious spirit then?
I think we can begin by
Practising random acts of kindness.
We can smile at an acquaintance at school/work instead of looking straight ahead.
We can spare a few more seconds to hold the door for someone behind us.
We can take a friend to lunch.
We can give someone a card of encouragement.
We can set our hearts to become a person whose grace is
Evident in all his steps.
We will not be perfect,
But we will have a
Special, gracious, fragrant,
Uncommon Beauty because of
Our Small Kindnesses,
Small Courtesies,
Small Considerations, and
Great Compassion.
*
The quality of mercy is not strain'd;
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath; it is twice bless'd;
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.
William Shakespeare
In the train today,
I couldn't wait to get my hands on my laptop to share with you
How rare and precious,
How Graciousness beautifies anybody.
I know this will seem like an extensive body of words,
But please take time to chew on each point.
I promise if you reflect on them
And experiment this quality in your life,
You'll look much prettier (and more handsome) than now.
Graciousness very often mistaken for the fourth quality, Selflessness.
But in close examination,
Both virtues are distinctly unique to its own.
*
A selfless woman is beautiful because
She doesn't focus on herself;
She has no pretence.
A measure of her selflessness is in
Her giving and serving to others.
While a Gracious person
Focuses on others,
Her Graciousness is measured by
Her Kindness,
Her Mercy, and
That 'air' of Grace she carries.
A Gracious person is Generous with
His Time,
His Possessions, and
His Lives.
He enjoys being Gracious to others.
True Graciousness does bring joy
To the one being Gracious.
King Solomon, the wisest man in history confirms this in one of his provers,
'Your own soul is nourished
When you are kind.'
So how do you know how Gracious you are today?
Heald wrote that the infallible test of being a Gracious person
Is
How you respond when the unexpected happens.
Even in the awkwardness of a misunderstanding,
A Gracious person can be
Courteous,
Kind, and
Helpful.
This is the mark of a Gracious person.
It is not easy to forgive or to be gracious,
Especially when we have been maligned or misunderstood.
But
Circumstances do not dictate a Gracious person's response.
A Gracious person is a
Grace Giver,
Even to those who seem undeserving.
On the flip-side,
Bitterness makes us hard, unhappy and unattractive.
Lillian, a 99 year-old lady has an endearing face that's wrinkled from smiling so much.
Lillian's gracius spirit didn't result from a comfortable life.
She has experience, in her words,
''...family feuds and several broken relationships.''
When asked how she lived so long and done so well,
Lillian's profound reply was,
''I just refused to be offended.''
What a cool granny!
Heald thinks what makes a person in refusing to be offended
Is the
Desire to forgive and
To release others
When he/she's been harmed.
It is deciding that
Forgiveness is always the best choice.
Now,
Being Gracious does not mean that we don't experience pain
When we've been wounded,
But it does mean that
We are willing to deal with pain
And to come out on the side of grace
How can we acquire a gracious spirit then?
I think we can begin by
Practising random acts of kindness.
We can smile at an acquaintance at school/work instead of looking straight ahead.
We can spare a few more seconds to hold the door for someone behind us.
We can take a friend to lunch.
We can give someone a card of encouragement.
We can set our hearts to become a person whose grace is
Evident in all his steps.
We will not be perfect,
But we will have a
Special, gracious, fragrant,
Uncommon Beauty because of
Our Small Kindnesses,
Small Courtesies,
Small Considerations, and
Great Compassion.
*
The quality of mercy is not strain'd;
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath; it is twice bless'd;
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.
William Shakespeare
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