I have a few classy friends who have taught me how to be classy too, because you see, class exudes from their being. Marisa, my life long friend, is one of them. She isn't rich, but she appears to be. Instead, she lives abundantly due to the class that she exudes.
She's the essence of style and grace from her face to her toes, which are always immaculately exposed. She must be the most impeccably groomed soul I've ever known, but it isn't just her face and toes that expose the class act she exudes. Class comes from deep inside her soul.
WHAT MAKES SOMEONE CLASSY?
1. Class always seeks serenity.
Marisa is not one who would ever be rude to you or anyone. She knows how to be serene, no matter how rude you might be and she never loses her dignity. Because of this, Marisa finds peace of mind all the time, no matter where she is or who she is with. It amazes me sometimes to see how peacefully she survives hard times along with any rude or crude people in her life. She's dignified.
2. People with class know how to let go of their ego, consistently, with amazing grace.
People with class don't have to prove anything. They understand the difference between command and demand. They realize that humility doesn't mean that we appear to be invisible, but to be classy, we must find a humble mind that attracts attention to our style. Though she never tries, Marisa commands any room she walks into with her essence of style and grace, not to mention attention.
She once told me that I too received attention when I walked into a room, but now I see the difference between Marisa and me. She commands it while I demand it. It's the same difference between a class act and the class clown that makes Marisa and I stand out in a crowd, but it can be confusing. I had no clue how to be more classy and less amusing, so I tried to pay attention to the attention Marisa receives, beyond me, whenever I'm with her in a crowded room. That's what classy people do. They command attention through dignity and grace, instead of humiliating themselves in a public place.
She graciously smiles and makes you feel comfortable immediately. There never seems to be an ulterior motive for what she says or does. She's simply kind all the time to you and I or anyone she'd meet on any street. That's why I believe that class requires consistency.
3. A person with class knows how to use tact when stating facts.
Do you know those souls who feel the need to tell you the truth about you and what you should do to improve? I suppose we all do that now and then with our family and friends, but if we want to be classy, we need to be less brassy. Some people think that honesty means that they need to slap you in the face with words that are way too frank. They take the truth to a new level that feels homicidal. When the truth hurts someone, it might be more classy to use tact when you state a fact.
Marisa knows how to be tactfully honest with her friends, by what she doesn't say to them, but shows them. If I vent to and with Marisa, she seems to mirror me by listening intently. She doesn't advise, but finds the wise side of me by reflecting what I say in a wiser way. I don't know if I can explain, because you see, I don't seem to have that ability. All I know for sure is the truth always comes to my mind when I vent to Marisa or ask her advice.
Soon, whatever I'd been so mad or sad about begins to shine through different eyes, and suddenly, I begin to see the truth differently. It's just a fact that people with class don't stab you in the back. They relate and reflect back the truth through you, by bringing out the best in you.
4. Class acts require discipline.
Marisa is the most disciplined soul I know. She never bows down to doom and gloom, but holds her head high all the time, and even if she doesn't smile, it seems as if she is. It's all about self confidence. She knows, deep in her soul, that whatever happens, it will be her disciplined mind that saves her hide and it does, every time.
She's like the rest of us and runs into bad people, things and happenings now and then, but she knows how to use self discipline to survive while some of us remain victims for life. She disciplines herself every day, by not reacting to what people do or say. She simply mirrors your view through a more disciplined view which tells her mind to be patiently kind.
5. When someone inspires the best of you to be seen, that's a classy human being.
You know, we human beings have a hard time letting go of our egos and admitting that someone else has a quality that we'd like to have ourselves, but don't. I suppose that's why I wrote this article today about my classy friend, Marisa. It's a classy thing to do, I believe. After all, that's what Marisa would do for me.
TO CONCLUDE:
My classy friend would graciously shine her dignified light on me, even though it might be she who needs the boost. That's what classy people do. They do and say things that bring out the class in other human beings. They treat others the way they'd like to be treated, and the result becomes new and improved classy human beings with dignity and grace, who command attention when they walk into a room. Classy human beings teach us how to be classy too, which brings me to a classy way to conclude.
I finally see that the epitome of a classy human being is one who shines the light that comes from inside an attitude of gratitude. That's why I'm grateful to my classy friends and Marisa is just one of them.