Chutzpah!

Yesterday I was surfing instagram and came across a reel of Dame Helen Mirren. She is a very famous Hollywood actress. She is 78 years old and looks every year that she has passed with a smile on this planet.

Her face is full of wrinkles, her hair is absolutely silver and even in her youth, she was never considered a great beauty. 

What was it in her that had me so mesmerised? 

She neither possesses youth or extreme beauty, yet one cannot overlook her; 

She isn’t the most famous or the richest, yet her aura is such that she can’t be ignored.

Then what, you might ask, is my point in bringing her up?? What is different in her that she deserves a mention at all?

Sometime back, I had come across a wonderfully tongue twisting word – “Chutzpah”, which means fearlessness, an attitude, courage and what we call in today’s lingo “having a nerve”. At that time I couldn’t relate this word to any face swimming in the archives of my mind. But somehow the word stuck in my memory.

Upon looking at the absolute brilliance of the smile, attitude, confidence and class of Helen Mirren, this word suddenly flashed in my mind. No other word can describe her. She has the ultimate “Chutzpah”!

Don’t we all come across individuals, who have nothing exceptional to boast about, but there is such an elegance, a charm in them that we cannot forget them. The fire and light in the eyes and the truth and brilliance in their smile brightens up everything around them. The sparkle in the eyes and the zing in the smile shines way more than a perfectly contoured face or perfectly positioned facial features.

Isn’t it the same with so many other aspects of life? 

A small gushing rivulet of water causes more joy than the vast, quiet ocean;

A not so cute and disproportionate looking, but happily jumping pug makes one more happy than a beautiful husky;

A not that pretty, but giggling child makes the eyes and the heart happier than a solemn model walking a runway;

A wild, swaying bush soothes the soul more than a staid looking huge tree;

A simple piggyback ride gives far more pleasure than a trip to a playstore….

The examples are inumerable!

What is it about confidence and bravery that shines more than any standard beauty protocol?

As someone wise said, “Beauty is the opposite of perfection. It’s about Confidence, Charisma and Character”

I would like to add “Chutzpah” to it too!!!