A few weeks ago I realized that I had not talked with my best friend for close to a month. We had emailed each other, but we had not spoken on the phone or seen each other for quite some time. I called her and suggested we spend some time shopping together. When I called her we were both at work. We were comparing schedules and having a hard time coming up with a date and time that we were both available. She announced that she had compensation time coming from work so she could go during the day. I told her I had worked several hours over time also and could take time. We impulsively decided to meet that day. We would take off for an early lunch and not go back to the office. My friend said that she needed to get a present for her mother’s birthday so it would be perfect to go shopping. She said we needed to look for womens interests.

We met for lunch and spent almost two hours catching up on events in each other’s lives. We then went shopping for womens clothing for her mother. Her mother has had issues with her weight for most of her life. Due to this she has a difficult time buying clothes. My friend said that misses sizes no longer fit her mother so she needed to go into the womens clothing section. Her mom tends to pick out things that are over sized to help hide her weight. This causes her to look even bigger. My friend wanted to get her a jacket that she could leave opened with a shirt underneath.

As we were shopping in the womens clothing my friend was surprised to see the nice selection of clothes available in larger sizes. There were many updated styles to choose from. My friend was having a hard time making a decision on which jacket to buy and what size to get. I suggested a gift card to the womens clothing store and a lunch date for her mom. My friend decided that spending the time with her mother would be the nicest gift of all.

A person that has outer beauty is typically someone that is considered physically attractive. He or she is usually considered to be skinny or average weight. Very rarely is a person that is overweight considered to be outwardly beautiful. If it is a woman, her hair and makeup is flawless. Whether her hair is short or long, blond or brunette doesn’t matter, but there is not a hair out of place. Her makeup is perfect. Eye shadow, blush, mascara, all exactly the shade it should be and nothing out of place. Her wardrobe could come from the most highly paid designers, or from the resale shops and it wouldn’t matter. The way she wears those clothes is very attractive. She is always dressed very neatly. There is not a wrinkle on her, nor is there a hint of wear on her clothing. If she’s dressed in black, it’s the deepest black; nothing on her has faded to gray.

A person that has inner beauty is considered to be a good hearted person. He or she is always interested in helping others. Everything he or she does is for the good of someone else. He or she may focus on recycling and other “green” matters that will help to preserve the earth we all live on. He or she may volunteer at local missions or hospitals in order to help others. He or she may be the person that everyone he or she knows turns to when they need advice or help through a hard time. He or she is usually reliable. If he or she says he or she is going to do something, you can bet that he or she will do it. He or she may not have outer beauty, but that is rarely focused on. His or her inner beauty usually shines with such a light as to make the lack of outer beauty unrecognizable.

It is possible to have both inner and outer beauty, though that is a truly rare find. Many that have outer beauty are so busy trying to keep it that they usually don’t think about the things a person with inner beauty may think about. Those with inner beauty are so busy trying to do good for others that they rarely think about themselves or when they do, their focus is not on how they can improve their outer appearance.

Beauty is a wonderful thing. Inner and outer beauty is something that people should work to achieve. Too much of any one thing is never good, but some of each is a definite positive. Not only will you portray a positive and attractive appearance to others, but others will also appreciate you for all the good that you do for those in need.

A popular solution to many unwanted pregnancies is abortion. Now, just to be clear, I’m not completely endorsing abortion. However, I think there is a time when abortion is the most realistic option. For example, if a woman is attacked, we can’t expect her to carry around the child of her rapist. That would be absurd. There are a number of unwanted pregnancies such as this each year. This is what makes pregnancy and abortion such touchy topics. It’s not cut and dry. There’s plenty of grey in there. The key is to educate your loved ones regarding unwanted pregnancies and teach them about safe practices. Remember, abstinence is the safest option around.