It’s becoming rampant again and is showing up everywhere!  Have you seen it?  Or heard it?  Just when I think we have made progress or have the upper hand, it shows its ugly face again.  It is seen and heard but never taught.  It is something that is learned…and therefore, can be unlearned.  It is sad, makes me angry and fuels the necessity for this post to be written.  What is “IT?”  Is there a vaccine for this disease?  Is it spreading and I going to get it?  Tell us…what is it?  Lately, I have heard more rejections of loving compliments given and they were denied so quickly before I am sure the words were even processed.  Negativity and denial was the common theme in a matter of days.  Ever told someone, “You’re beautiful!” or “It’s great to see you!”?  I have heard replies like,  “Whatever” or “No!” this last week and then the person that I said it to was gone.  Sound like someone you know?  We women are so sensitive about what others think about us that you think we would be starving for a compliment, when we could get one.  Look at what we do to make our outside look attractive…we color our hair to hide the gray, we paint our nails, and we buy the best clothes.  We put on this false pretense that we want other people to see us as beautiful, but we wouldn’t even buy what we are trying to sell.  Even if someone tells you that “you are amazing” — how do you respond?  Are you a host for this sickness that only seems to afflict the female population?  Are the toxic aches and pains that you surround yourself with something that you can drain from your body and soul?  You can, if you try to work at it every day.  It will not happen over night, but eventually the cesspool will become dry.  Do you believe what others see in you?  I know I am always humbled when someone pays me a compliment — others see attributes in me that I would not use to describe myself.  Beauty is not something we find on the outside, and yet we continue to spend more money and more attention on what we people will see instead of what they don’t see.  At some point we need to understand that beauty is something that radiates from the inside out, not the other way around.  So how do we end this infection that comes to every women?  We stand together.  We graciously accept the compliments when they are given and we turn around and repay the favor to others.  We become resilient to allowing this lesson that will be passed on to future generations to come to end with us.  We will no longer tolerate the brush-offs we give when someone honors your soul.  We will accept the kindness in others and graciously give it, especially when it is least expected.  Catch someone off guard today and give them a compliment — pay tribute to the smile they always have with them; hand out kudos for a job well done; or offer your congratulations on a milestone accomplished.  This prevailing belief has got to stop.  It is vast, wide-spread, and will kill faster than any medical disorder ever will.  When we stand together and decide that we will empower women to be strong, courageous, and show their moxie every day, then, and only then, will the epidemic subside and diminish from any existence at all.  That is our purpose.  “When we stand together” by Nickelback

Michelle A. Homme 2013 ©