How do I look?

Had an interesting conversation with a woman I hadn't seen for a long time, the other day. I was sitting on a bench outside my local pharmacy (pre-surgery by the way) and this woman was walking by. We did the eye dance for a moment while we each let our brains process who we were looking at. It had been that long.
We chit-chatted for a bit and one of her questions to me was..."So what have you been up to lately?" My answer went something like "Well, I am working on a book, writing music and looking after this body of mine. Dealing with some health issues." Her response thrilled me when she said "Oh, well you don't look like a sick person."
Thank you. Because I don't want to look like a sick person any more than I want to be one. It made me realize once again that you just never know what's going on beneath the surface of one's skin. My blood sugar could have been 23 (that's really high) for all she knew.
But there is another area of life where I think this masquerade does not apply. And that is with beauty. It's quite a phenomenon really. It may work for a brief time but in the long run, you just can't fake it.
You know what I mean? You meet a gorgeous looking woman and stand in awe, hidden in her shadow. And then you get to know her. You find out she is a mean, backstabbing, untrustworthy person. It always amazes me what happens next. It's like her face transforms into wrinkles, her feet look too big and her nose, well, don't get me started. But what's fascinating is nothing has physically changed since your first meeting. It's just that the ugliness from within is oozing out of her pores, and that's all you can now see.
I know we all have some degree of "ugliness" in our inner being, but it is amazing how radiant the most plainly featured girl can look when her heart is bursting with generosity, forgiveness and love. When she has not an ounce of judgement to pour on anyone. Now that's beauty.
So I am glad I don't look like a sick person. I hope I don't often look like an "ugly" person. And that has nothing to do with my makeup, clothes or shoes. Cuz one thing's for sure...
Beauty's not skin deep, it's everything underneath.