Further exploring beauty.....

I just finished reading Jenn's blog on beauty and all things beautiful -- the idea sparked by the release of People Magazine's list of the 100 most beautiful people.

Jenn sure is right.

There are so many beautiful things that have nothing to do with a person's physical appearance.

Her blog, and a story on Good Morning America, really got me thinking about how physical-beauty-obsessed we are as a nation.

Is a beautiful man/woman with an ugly heart still beautiful?

Is an ugly man/woman with a golden heart still ugly?

And, despite how attractive you think you are, or aren't -- what if one day, the face that looked back at you in the mirror was unrecognizable?

I can't even begin to imagine what it's like for Connie Culp -- the Ohio woman featured on GMA this morning.

In 2004, her husband fired a shotgun at her face -- in a murder/suicide attempt -- shattering nearly every facial bone below her forehead.

The pictures of Culp, after the shooting, are horrifying.

She essentially didn't have a face.

It is truly amazing that she survived.

But, she did, and has become America's first facial transplant patient.

The 22-hour surgery was performed last December and more work will need to be done.

Tuesday, Culp spoke with reporters about her experience -- urging people not to judge others by their looks and not to put too much stock into their own physical beauty...because one day it may be taken away.

This mother of two's courage, and will to live, can only be described with one word: beautiful.