Celebrating Love that Values Inner Strength Over Outer Appearance

Do you long to know a love that’s honest and real? Or are you currently celebrating this genuine gift?

In this episode, you’ll hear an original poem, Aura, written by Lia Girard, and consider how it illuminates your own appreciation of love that values inner strength over outer appearance. Lia offers encouragement to love what naturally glows from within.

Today’s episode invites you to: 

- explore how love reveals itself to be genuine

- let go of being measured by impossible standards

- appreciate what’s found on the inside

You’ll also be given a word, inspired by the poem, to ponder as your week unfolds. 

Lia Girard is a poet, writer, author, wife, and mom whose feature articles are found on iBelieve.com, Crosswalk.com, and other inspirational platforms. 

You can explore her poetry, often inspired by the wonders of nature, on Instagram: @wildpeace.poetry. 

If you love the show, or any episode resonates with you, please rate or review the show on your favorite platform, or email your feedback to lia@wildpeacepoetry.com.

Transcript

Lia Girard 0:02

Hello and welcome to Heart of a Wildflower. This is a space that invites you to slow down, reconnect, and find beauty in every season. I'm Lia Girard, your host, and I'm so glad you're here. In each episode, we'll consider an aspect of love, longing, or life, such as heartache, healing, or hope, by reading and exploring a poem together. We'll end with a thoughtful word or phrase to contemplate as your week unfolds. Today, let's spend a few moments with a small poem I wrote in honor of authentic love, the kind of love that does the satisfying work of revealing inner strength and beauty, not simply expecting a varnished outer appearance. I'm drawn to, and maybe you are as well, the purposeful searching of emotions, past experiences, beliefs, and choices of someone you love. It's one of the best ways to ensure you both feel fully known in all your brokenness and your wisdom without any need to hide behind a perfect facade. The poem is titled Aura. Show me real. I want to feel the quirks of who you are. Give me all your wrinkles and your stories and your scars. Share with me the secrets you protect in fragile jars, so I can see the light in you that outshines all the stars. Have you ever wanted someone like this seen something glowing in their aura that pulled you closer or made you feel at peace or at home and made you want to know more? Let's consider, of course, that the kind of openness I'm offering in this poem is best experienced in an atmosphere of trust, because we also know that sometimes what's only on the outside can lure us into relationships that aren't safe for us on the inside. And after having learned about true love the hard way myself, I now know that it's most definitely what's on the inside that has the strength to go the distance. Only when two people are willing to cherish each other's imperfections and cup them tenderly as they grow, can you build this kind of sacred perseverance and mutual admiration? And maybe you're enjoying genuine love right now. And if not, then let this poem reassure you that it's not a pipe dream. It's as real as it gets. You might endure a lot of disillusionment on your way to finding and recognizing it, but it is worth celebrating when you do. For me, I had to struggle through a lifetime of people pleasing and confusion and betrayal until I finally found true love myself. And I can tell you it's magical, not perfect, not always pretty, but it's unshakably present, honest, and strong, even as our bodies fade. And it's the most beautiful feeling I've ever known. Love that values inner strength over outer appearance is brave enough to say this out loud. I know your stories. I see your wounds. I don't expect a filtered version of you as you age. Your inner aura is heavenly to me. That's why our poem today says, so I can find the light in you that outshines all the stars. This exploration taps into a vulnerability that's reciprocal and respected. It offers promises that hold forever, no matter what, our outer appearances lose along the way. As we close, I'd like to leave you with a word from the poem to ponder. And that word is real. Is there someone in your life who knows what's going on inside you and loves this real you? Or could you be the one who needs to love the real you first? If you're tired of the constant pressure to measure up to impossible standards of outer appearance, why not name and appreciate something real about you? Find something utterly natural that glows from within you. Maybe it's the spark in your eyes. Maybe the gentleness of your touch, the kindness of your voice, the reliability of your word. Maybe your heart for those in need or the passion in your songwriting or your art or your hobby. Whatever you recognize, please remember it doesn't have to look like anyone else. I just hope you will look for and see the light in you and feel free to be the real you that you know and love. Thank you for spending this time with me today. I hope it offered you room to reflect and reconnect with yourself. If this episode spoke to you, please share it with a friend or drop me an email at lia@wildpeacepoetry.com. You can also find my poetry and message me on Instagram : @wildpeace.poetry. Until next time, keep blooming in your own wild and wonderful way.