Thanks to a recent bunch of postings of pictures from friends old and new, I have once again been reminded that I know–and have always known–a large number of very attractive women.
What impesses me even more is that they keep me around.
Looking back, I’ve always been surrounded by beautiful, intelligent and downright sharp women. Thankfully, I’ve realized that and have developed a great appreciation for the level of luck that I have. I don’t seek them out–whenever I’ve tried that, it never ends well–I just stumble upon them and, before I know it, start seeing them regularly.
And by “seeing them regularly”, that’s pretty much all I mean.
Of all of those lovely women over the years, I haven’t dated 99.999 percent of them. At least 95 percent of them, I’ve never even tried to ask out. Why? Well, partially because, like most guys, I’m a bit intimidated by pretty women. The thought of interacting with them just brings back waves upon waves of deep-seated, well-trained, old anxiety (yay, middle and high school!).
The action of interacting with them? Not so bad once you get over that initial barrier. At least with my friends. It actually gets to the point rather quickly where I forget I’m chatting with some drop-dead gorgeous heavenly creature. I don’t notice (until they come up and tell me) that other guys are looking at me with envy.
And the look on the faces of those envious guys when I just casually say “Oh, her? She’s an old friend of mine!” is the final reminder of just how platonic most of those relationships are.
Crushes? Yeah, most of them. But how could I not?
There’s no arguing that my female friends are highly aesthetically pleasing. Just watching heads turn, drinks spill and conversations trail off when they walk by is proof of that. Lots of women can lay claim to that.
The beauty that gets me is something deeper, though–something beyond the “Yeah, I’d do ‘er” visceral, biological reaction. That beauty may fade with time (though I must say, some women that I’ve known for near 20 years now still look almost the same now).
For me to bother to push through that barrier of self-consciousness, to put in the effort to get to know them, there has to be more than that physical beauty. There has to be something deeper and more enduring showing through.
Brains, compassion, creativity, drive and, in general, passion all shine through. Those are the things that can take even an average looking woman and elevate them to goddess levels of hotness.
Any man worth his salt will be able to tell the difference between the real thing and just some nicely wrapped package of nothing. And he’ll work to get past his own hangups and fight to get to know the truly beautiful woman.
Yeah, every now and then I’m reminded of just how lucky I am. When that happens, I want to go to each and every one of my female friends and thank them for being… themselves. And for keeping me around (see, that’s those old insecurities still trying to poke through).
So if you’re one of the lovely ladies I’ve known over the years, this is for you: May your happiness shine through, illuminating all with that inner beauty you possess. May those around you realize how lucky they are–and those who’ve left you learn from their mistakes. Most importantly, may you know, deep down, that no matter what happens to the exterior, you will always remain beautiful. True beauty never fades.
And you… you’re all true beauties.
