How hard it can be to let others know the real person we are inside. This men’s showing our flaws, features, talents, dreams and weaknesses. If we show all that will we be accepted? Will they admire us or be judgmental and run away? True friends and loved ones do love us just the way we are, we simply have to have courage and believe in ourselves enough to show the real person inside.
In a world that focuses so much on our appearance, it can be scary to show ourselves without make-up, spanx, or even clothes that suit our body type. Our appearance is only the outer shell, here Billy Joel reminds us that it is the person we are within that is what people really love. I have a friend who won’t leave the house without wearing makeup. I used to be that way as well, then realized that my husband doesn’t think I need it so who cares what anyone else thinks. Maybe that attitude comes with age, experience or laziness in not wanting to spend all that time each day putting on something for other people. What is most important is what I think about my appearance, age and maturity have helped me get over it.
To be loved just the way you are also means we have to love in that same manner. We have to accept people – the way they look, talk, act, their likes and dislikes, everything about them – it is the only true basis for love and friendship. They may have habits or traits that annoy us, knowing that and still caring about them is what true love is all about. They don’t have to change to be accepted, they simply need to be themselves and we need to be more patient.
Loving people means loving all of them – the good, the bad, and the ugly…all of which make them who they are. That is easy to say until their bad habit creeps into the situation and has the power to derail everything. Guess what we all have those habits and people love us anyway. Let these words remind you that love means loving every inch, not just the good parts.
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