Starting HoneyGood.com has been such a blessing in my life, darlings, for a variety of reasons. Not only has it given me the opportunity to find and express my voice, but it has connected me to all of you! It has been my pleasure sharing my words of wisdom and lifestyle advice to my dear readers, who not only mirror me but who also complement me in ways I never could have expected.

It has also been such fun expressing my feelings in an open and sincere manner with all of you about my life experiences, my family, my personal thoughts on topics for women over 50 and my lifestyle. We often relate to each other, but we teach each other so much more! Am I right, darlings?

Beauty

One day, I was on my Facebook page and a woman’s name caught my eye… Janice. I knew this woman from my past!

“OMG!” I thought to myself, “This cannot be!”

Her presence on HoneyGood.com continued. I noticed posters with beautiful spiritual sayings; the sayings were ones I would choose.

Every time her named appeared it brought me back to my high school years and Janice.

Fast forward and Janice eventually commented with a personal note to me on HoneyGood.com regarding one of my Mother Daughter stories! She wrote, and I quote…

“Susan, this is a beautiful tribute to your mother. I only wish I could have shared more of my life with my mother. She was killed in an automobile accident when she was fifty. However, the memories I do have are priceless! May God bless you both. ~Janice”

I was deeply touched. You know how I get, darlings! Of course, I wrote back.

The Beautiful

The word beauty comes to mind when I think of Janice. We attended high school together in Kankakee by the Sea, my hometown. Janice was, and deserved to be, crowned Prom Queen of Kankakee High School. She was the Queen of everything!

She was the ‘It’ girl at my high school alma mater, Kankakee High! Blonde, blue eyed, petite with a sweet personality, she was the best cheerleader on the team, and even had the cutest boyfriend, who she eventually married. She was the essence of what every teenage girl at Kankakee High dreamed of being because along with beauty she possessed another great quality. Most importantly, she was non-threatening to the other girls. How was she able to do this at such a young age?

When our class voted for the queen of this and the queen of that, I knew I would never win and was content and truly happy to be in her queen’s court. All the girls were.

This leads me to my commentary on BEAUTY. What makes a woman beautiful? I believe it is her ‘total makeup,’ not just her looks, though I will not discount that a woman’s beauty plays a big role.

Unfortunately, a woman’s beauty comes with all kinds of assaults.

How can she combat this?

I believe she should be true to herself, reminding herself to be aware of another woman’s feelings, not out of weakness but out of strength.

A Few Helpful Tips

Intelligence. Be beautiful with your mind. Unless you are with a group of ‘brainy’ women, I think you should keep the conversation light. You do not want to intimidate. You already do with your looks.

Confidence. You are probably loaded with confidence. We all know the saying, ‘If you’ve got it, flaunt it.’ I suggest you don’t. When you walk into a room, think, ‘there you are.’ And not, ‘here I am.’ Believe me, with your presence, they will know you have arrived!

Dress. Don’t allow another woman’s insecurity to intimidate your unique style. In this instance, be you 100%. Dress to please your husband and yourself. Let your beauty shine. Those that don’t like it… just delete.

Affluent. Be rich within. Don’t let your money ever say, ‘I am too good for you.’ There is no beauty in that. Be down-to-earth. You can still wear your Jimmy Choo shoes and your designer jeans!

Operate in shades of grey. If you have a strong personality don’t smother it; regulate it to the temperature of the women in the group.

Competition. Women will feel you are a threat. It is your goal for your sake to make your women friends feel like winners. You already are!

Mean Girls. They always run in a group! They bond in numbers and put others down, they are judgmental and cold, and in short, they have no beauty! If you are a part of a group such as this, examine your reasons why and… run!

Let’s Celebrate All Types of Beauty

It’s been said that comparison is the thief of joy. This is certainly a poignant reminder to celebrate yourself and your beauty, inside and out, as well as that of your girlfriends, older and younger. We must stop simply feeling — and instead start acting — beautiful. Like Janice.

What does beauty look like to you? Please share your thoughts with me via Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram or in the comments section below.