True Beauty Spotlight: Keetha McDaniel

I met Keetha while looking for an acupuncturist to help me through my bout of depression I was having and to help correct the pinched nerve I had in my shoulder as well. I went in expecting an older man who wouldn't understand the emotions of a woman and was pleasantly surprised to find Keetha. We cried together finding we were in the same state in our lives of losing our grandparents and offered me a hug and we chatted like old girlfriends. Then the acupuncture started even though the healing of just chatting with her had already begun. That was the start of our friendship. She is truly a beautiful person and her upbeat personality and views of the world make her awe inspiring. She never has a bad word to say about anyone. She loves fully and opens her heart to the world. Here are her thoughts about true beauty, self esteem and beyond:

"I believe that true, natural beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Since we are all different, we all have different perspectives of the world around us... therefore, our perspective helps to define who we are and what we hold sacred...which makes it impossible to have a true definition of beauty... As far as my own perspective goes...I believe that true, "natural" beauty is that which has not been tainted and shines as the Creator intended.

 

I want my daughter to remember me as a person who marched to the beat of her own drum. I want her to remember me as a woman who was passionate about what I believed in, and had a strong connection to other human beings and the world around me... Most importantly, I want her to remember her mother as being the one in her life who encouraged her to think with her heart and follow her intuition...

 

It's hard for me to say how I would like others to remember me. After all, I don't fully grasp what their perceptions are of me at the moment. How I see things through my eyes doesn't necessarily mean that I am defined by others this way... I suppose I would have to hope that they remember me as someone who left an impression on their life, just as they all have in mine.

 

For any women or girls out there who are struggling with self confidence and accepting yourself-- surrender yourself.  Surrender to the idea that anyone else's standards should not be  your own. It's easy to get sucked into the idea that there is a social standard for what is beautiful..or what is not. That simply is not the case. ALL of you are beautiful, whether you feel that way or not.

 

I believe that my best quality is my open-mindedness. I love the world around me, and even more so, I love the elements that make us all different. I try to see the beauty in all things, both familar and unfamiliar, and this enriches my life experience... I believe lack of an open mind equals lack of  potentially colorful life experiences...

 

As a society, I think that we can help others to see that they are beautiful both inside and out by changing our mindset and taking the oversized focus off of a streamlined "definition" of beauty. See the beauty in everything you see, whether it be a statue, earthworm, burn victim, or thundercloud. Everything on this Earth is connected, and the sooner we allow a more positive aura to shine from our own hearts, the sooner we will notice it shining from the hearts of others..."

 

Keetha's friend Joshua has this to say about her:
"I can't think of any other way to describe Keetha’s view on the world around her, other than to say that she truly does have an outlook of love that guides her every thought and every action. Everyone preaches love and acceptance these days, but few people actually live their life by the concept that love is what moves humankind toward a better place than what we now know. Keetha has been my close friend for a long time now, and I'm always inspired and comforted by the creative ways she can bring love, and life, to any situation. Her positive attitude and great personality just seem to just push all negativity far away from her…that is one of the many things that makes Keetha a beautiful person."

Peace and Love
Katelyn