What’s Stealing Your Beauty? | The Healthy Beauty Project -by Todra Payne

I once had a beautiful friend, a woman who was creative and fun. She had a great apartment in an enviable Manhattan neighborhood. She ran her own business, dressed like a fashion model and loved great food.

We spent countless evenings running around New York City, eating at top tier  restaurants and grungy hole-in-the-walls (if they had great food), listening to music in Bryant Park and telling each other our darkest secrets.

Then she met a man at church. A few months later, they were married. Although it seemed quick to some of our mutual friends, I trusted her decision. But after only a few months, the marriage turned bitter. At first it was small disagreements. Then it was one really big, insurmountable problem.

She’d call me at night after he was asleep. I’d listen to her as she recounted vicious verbal attacks, power struggles and finally, violence. She held on because she didn’t want the “stigma of divorce.”

Over the years, her resentment and disappointment grew. And she seemed to have no happiness at all. Then she stopped calling me.

When I saw her again, years later, her face was sad and filled with lines. She had deep, dark circles under her eyes. I was so sad when I didn’t see any traces of that laughing, witty young woman I’d known. I felt as though I could see in her face every nasty word her husband had ever said to her.

Today someone told me I’ve been looking “so beautiful lately.” I, like my friend, didn’t always have the best of relationships. And I often stayed longer than I should have. I now realize others could see my painful life in my face.

Now that I am happy again, there is light and laughter. Beauty isn’t just about products. It’s about life. Do you have something in your life that’s stealing your beauty – a romantic relationship, a stressful job, a dysfunctional family member? Will you make plans today to change the situation?