Be you. No one else can.

The lens we use to view the world makes all the difference. I tend to be a “big picture” kind of gal. The overall composition of an idea or a photo matters to me more than tiny details…until I tried a “macro” lens on my camera. I pointed that new lens at a glop of snow perched on our weather-worn fence and saw something I’d never seen before: individual snowflakes. AMAZING! Can you see those tiny beauties? They’re stunning, all of them. Even the ones with crystals bent at odd angles.

For me, there’s a profound lesson within this picture: if you look close enough, you’ll see beauty in imperfection.

I’m rarely so accepting of my own flaws. Too often, I allow my weaknesses stop me. I avoid risk because I’m afraid I’ll fail. I’ll avoid people, too. Do you do the same thing? Do you listen to that scared voice in your head, the one that says your bent angles aren’t good enough?

Let’s stop doing that to ourselves. In 2018, let’s look through a different lens, one that allows us to see the beauty in our bent angles. Truth is, those unusual angles catch the light and make us shine.