America sometimes seems to be a nation in which appearance matters more than substance. People have massive houses with rooms they don't even use and beautiful lawns with grass so perfectly manicured that no one is allowed to really play on it. Women buy products to try and look younger and clothes to try and look thinner. Schools pass students from high school who just aren't well-educated so as to prevent messing up their graduation rate.
I'm certainly not immune from being caught up in appearances. I was listening to a song on the radio that was a perfect Viennese Waltz in terms of tempo. I started dancing to it in my head, and daydreaming about how graceful and beautiful I'd be. As I kept thinking about it, I realized that the grace and beauty of ballroom dance is really an illusion. Dancing requires precision, knowledge, and extraordinary effort. Ballerinas ignore blistered and bleeding feet, screaming muscles, sweat, and fatigue to give the audience the impression that they can float like butterflies without even trying.
Sometimes I look at the people I respect most and see the effortless beauty of their lives and ignore all the time and energy they put into all they do. Sometimes I feel like I must be doing something wrong when I feel myself working so hard and see others doing great things with seemingly no trouble at all. I need to remember that there is always more going on behind the scene.
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