You know, I was once standing in line at the post office, and in front of me was a young woman in late pregnancy. It was obvious that she was having a hard time: slightly swollen legs, soft facial features, typical for this period. And still, I looked at her with admiration. In her movements, in her smile, in the way she easily responded to the good-natured words of the cashier, there was something deeply human. Very feminine. As if she already knew some secret of life, inaccessible to others. But someone glanced at her in passing, not with admiration, but with pity or boredom, and my heart sank at that moment. Why is that? Why does such beauty remain invisible?

Maybe it’s because in the modern world we are too carried away by “ideals”. Clear lines, toned forms, correct features – all this is beautiful, I agree. But beauty is not only symmetry. It is deeper, it is about life, about honesty, about what is real. Pregnant women have this realness, in some pure form. They look different. Yes, their bodies change. But don’t we ourselves change as we grow older or experience life? Why do we try to turn away from these changes?

Let me share a personal moment. I have a friend who for a long time could not understand why people are so sensitive to this topic. When his wife became pregnant, he honestly admitted that he felt confused. Her usual features had changed, she was no longer the “playboy girl” he had met before. And then one day, closer to her term, he told me something that touched me. He said: “I looked at her in the evening - just sitting next to her, without any unnecessary thoughts. And I realized that she was the most beautiful she had ever been. It was not the beauty I was used to - but it was like more. Her beauty makes me want to be a better person.”

For me, it was like a revelation. In the end, that’s what love is about, isn’t it? To see more than meets the eye. To change each other, to grow, to accept each other as we are - even when changes drag on for years behind us.

And you know, it says a lot about us. To see this beauty - it’s also a choice. Maybe not always an easy one. Maybe our upbringing, modern standards make it hard to make it natural. But can you imagine how your view of the world changes if you at least try?

I think a good man (or just a good person) is someone who can understand beauty that is not only obvious. Someone who respects change, accepts it, and finds something inspiring even in imperfections. And even if one day his life will confront him with something unknown, with something he is not ready for, he will still try to see the depth in it.

These are just thoughts. But maybe they will resonate with you. Or make you smile, because suddenly you remembered a moment when you yourself saw in someone that very quiet beauty that is so difficult to convey in words. Who knows?

I just want to know that I am not the only one who thinks about this. And even if we never meet, know that I am glad that you read to the end.

Lana Banana