Charm
I am a pushover for charm. A little charm goes a long way with me. I crave it, require it, can’t get along without it.
I even enjoy charm for charm’s sake.
Of course, I want substance to underlie charm. I want charm to be true and meaningful, yet still I’ll take charm any day. I’ll go along with it, even when I know it’s charm alone and not meaningful. No matter what, I find charm charming.
It took a great many years for me realize how much I needed charm. For a long time I didn’t know that the word for what I craved was charm.
To this day I don’t even really know how to describe what charm is. Is it friendliness? Kindness? Enjoyment? Good manners? A way with words? Love -- an expression of love even if only for a moment? What is charm anyway?
Of course, we know the Greatest Charmer of All. He has winning charm. Irresistible charm. Enduring lasting infinite charm. Charm comes naturally to God, and, of course, He means every word of it.
Comments
"CHARM"! That ability to make another or others feel good in one's presence. It's almost like its own aura, isn't it? I always think of my oldest son when I hear this word. He marches to his own often unorthodox drum and relies heavily on his charm to get him through all aspects of life. I sometimes felt (and still feel) that he relies too heavily on it. When he was young I worried that he'd never "really" be successful because of this. He wasn't motivated by all those things that reportedly get you ahead in life: good grades, hard work, making every minute count, saving money, planning ahead, etc. He understood the power of charm and sometimes abused it in my opinion. In school teachers either loved him and cut him slack because of his charm, or saw him as an Eddy Haskel and despised him. It's been the same in his working life. Here's the thing, though, I'm beginning to see him in a new light. Can he connect with a stranger at the speed of light and make that person feel validated? All the time. Does he take in apparent "misfits" like some people take in stray animals and spend time with them, listen to them, foster them? Indeed - it's like a hobby for him. These are gifts of charm. So he's terrible with money and other details of navigating in the "real" world. Time is a mystery to him. He could sleep or daydream whole days away if his wife and young children let him. But he is charming and he's generous with it. He let's it pour out onto anyone willing to soak it up. He knows this about himself and is comfortable with it. So I'm relooking yet again at how "success" is defined. Lately, he's been looking very successful to me.
I have a theory, Gloria, that people who crave charm are usually charmers themselves. My son absolutely adores charm in others. And you, a great charmer yourself, know that you MUST have it in your life.
I wish you a week of charming encounters!
All Light and Love,
Jo
Real charm is an other word for LOVE I think!!
Your blog and your e-mails are so full of charm, dear Gloria and what you think you are!!
Hurray for the charming Gloria. Love you All. Jack
Jack, I think I agree with you.
And, Jo, I definitely want to meet your son!
Charm School has a different meaning from what I might like schools to teach.
There are plenty of truly loving people who hold back on charm, it seems to me. Maybe they think only what they actually do matters, and not how they make everyone feel.
Then, of course, we've heard of wolves in sheep's clothing. Every con man must ooze with charm.
So we do all want the substance behind it.
Is charm perhaps another word for romance? Is it the poetry of life?
I believe that true authentic charm, the kind with "substance" behind it is the ability to shine one's light and lift another. The receiver can feel bathed in the beams of the charmer's light. A charmer opens up his/her heart and lets it flow out - it appears so effortlessly done that we might mistakenly think it is no big deal. But such generosity with his/her respect, time, attention, honor, LOVE - is indeed a very big deal. Romance and charm often go hand in hand, but I don't think of them as synonyms. And yes, charm is very much a part of the "poetry of life". The sending and receiving of charm is a magical exchange.
Happy Mother's Day!
Can anyone read comments on this blog and not be utterly amazed at the wisdom and love of the people who post? I've said it before, and I'll say it again -- Heavenreaders are
phenomenal, and I am in constant awe.
With love and blessings,
Gloria
Maybe this sounds wierd, but I find that I don't trust charming people. I don't mean those who are genuinely good and kind and humble. I mean the ones with the gleam in their eye who go out of their way to make you feel special. I see them as trying to make an impression so that they can take advantage of others.
Yeah, I know what you mean, Joyce. They're trying to sell you something or they believe you will be useful to them in some way. They're buttering you up! Then when they find out you're not useful, they don't even notice you! I've had that experience. I always want their attention to be true, and sometimes it just isn't. On the other hand, they did give me a few minutes of joy while it lasted!
Blessings and love, dear Joyce.
Gloria