A film by Green Renaissance.

"My biggest regret is that I wasn't born beautiful-- there, I've said it." Jenny Jackson delivers these words with captivating candor in this poignant, short film by Green Renaissance. Lacking the experience of warmth and kindness in childhood, Jackson grew into a person she barely recognized. In her forties three words on a sandwich board brought a moment of self-reckoning that ripened over slow years. In her mid-sixties she began to deeply explore all the parts of her life that she had not truly dealt with. If you live long enough, you will experience great hurt. What you make of that is up to you. It can be beautiful or it can be ugly. "The important thing is not how one looks, but how you are able to connect to the people and the world around you." Discover the gift of Jackson's resilient spirit, her wisdom, humor and art here.

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  • Sofelpi

    ...La la la la...Life is Life ....

  • Audrey

    what a gorgeous soul and beautiful person...truly inspiring ❤️

  • Kristin

    Words cannot express the thankfulness to you Jenny for openly and honestly sharing. May Beauty go before you, May Beauty be behind you, May Beauty be above you, May Beauty be below you, May Beauty permeate you so that you may share Beauty with the world. This is an Indigenous Prayer that is Beautiful and as Beautiful as you Jenny and your heart. May you continue to share Beauty with the world!

  • Martha Jackson

    What a wonderful film about a gorgeous and inspiring woman! Jenny, I love your words, your honesty, your beautiful art, your home, how you've surrounded yourself with beauty!! I'm also a Jackson and wish I could discover that we are related! I'd love to have you as a family member!

  • Nishi

    It is so open and honest, I loved it - very powerful

  • Solomon

    What does " I wasn't beautiful" means? What is beauty? I don't think it is look, it is more than that. You are warm, affectionate and you love nature, art. You know how to connect with nature, you live nature and you are nature. I don't know a more beautiful person than you, Jenny.

  • M

    I love you, Jenny!

  • Donna

    Touching. Sad her mother missed out. Jenny is adorable and wouldn't I love to have those paintings in my home!!

  • Debi

    This was a wonderful film to watch to start my day.

  • Lynne

    What exquisite beauty radiating from you, your life, your experiences. Thank you, deeply, for who you are - you have touched my heart at a time when it so needed to be touched. Thank you. You are precious beyond measure.

  • Mireille

    Thank you for this video. Ms. Jackson you are beautiful inside and out. You create and radiate beauty. It is never too late to change. Thank you for this lesson. Much love.

  • Caroline

    So wonderful. What came to mind for me is that when I was younger, the women in my my life valued a sort of "prettiness" or "girlishness" that I didn't possess. As I watched Jenny, I thought she lacked that pretty, but had the beauty. Once I stopped pursuing the pretty, I could settle into the beauty -- all are beautiful. Thank you for this brave story telling.

  • Lina Cuartas

    The utter honesty, vulnerability and the glint of those eyes!!! I think she is gorgeous! What a soul, what an inspiring, colorful human being. I'd love to sit with her and exchange stories, laugh together and paint by the ocean!

  • Diane

    The courage to confront oneself, stripped bare and come out with acceptance and self love.

  • Sidonie

    Thank you, Jenny, for conveying what matters so beautifully, gracefully and authentically! I believe there are no mistakes, no "wrong roads" as we are today the result of all of our choices... All is well regardless of how we perceive our life experiences. So we might as well be at peace with what is. Love and blessings to you. Namaste!

  • Monika Sternecker

    Monika. What a poignant film.As women age, we lose whatever external measures of beauty the world judges us by. If, at this time, wd have not cultivated our inner gardens, it is a barren time indeed. Meaning and purpose are now derived from the quality of our friendships; our willingness to be of service in whatever small way; to express in art, music, dance and kind gratitude for the rich gifts of the Earth and all its creatures. Thank you.

  • Merrylyn

    Stumbling across this short video is, for me, a priceless gift. Jenny's words about her mother, and her childhood experiences of being made to feel unlovable, are very much akin to my own. It does indeed scar us for life, until we find the courage to dig down into the depths of the pit we were thrown into, and painfully, slowly try to haul ourselves out, inch by slow inch. Only now, in my late seventies, am I able to find the courage to tackle this; I have such a horror of dying before finding resolution.

  • Heidi

    Radiant! Brava, Jenny. A true lotus growing beautiful in the muck of life. Thank you.

  • L. Miller

    Bravo, Jenny!

  • Cheryl

    It's a beautiful story of awakening and I'm so glad Jenny found it in art. It also made me realize just how much our early experiences of life as a young child can affect us, and how important it is to be able to release those dark moments in whatever way we can and make room for more positive and productive thoughts and feelings no matter how difficult that journey is.

  • Valerie

    Magnificent that’s what you are! At 71 I’m still on a journey and I hope it never ends.

  • Donna

    My first impression was that you are beautiful, but as the 8 min video progresses - you became more and more beautiful. The inside beauty shining through you eyes and smile. Happy for you that you can now see it - what an inspiration for the rest of us.

  • June

    Absolutely gorgeous. This is the most beautiful message coming from a beautiful woman. Thank you. I needed to heat this.

  • Sue

    Life is truly a journey. I am so happy for you that you have traveled to its depths. Maybe all those past experiences made you determined to pursue your search for "the more." You are a beautiful seeker. Thank you for sharing your journey. I hold you in my heart and my prayers.

  • Maria

    A beautiful woman with a radiant spirit - and I love the art work as well. I am of similar age and resonate with Jennie's story. I guess no matter at what age we awaken, it is glorious. Thank you for sharing.

  • Sue

    Jenny, you are gorgeous in every way! I’m so drawn to your authenticity and your beautiful smile and twinkling eyes. I also took the long slow road, and started really digging deep at 53 y.o. ( I am now 60) I am now happy to be uncovering my true self at any age, because I realize that some never do. I’d happily hang out with you if I had the chance. Thanks for courageously sharing your story.

  • Ardis

    Your radiant smile, laugh, and whimsical shoes all made me smile. Thank you for sharing your personal revelations and evolution. They matter, and you matter. Warm regards.

  • Saundy

    The beauty within U Jennie radiates so clearly to the world. The soul and what lies within is the most important aspect of life, while our outer coating, the body, is just a covering for all for all the radiance U possess!

  • Fátima

    Jenny, YOU. Are. Perfect. Always was. You touched my soul, an honor, and I thank You so very much. Keep on shinning on :>)

  • Mindy

    your honesty is beautiful and so strong! i think beauty is in the eye of the beholder and I see the gift of your sharing and how pieces of your story will resonate and heal others. Your self awareness and then most important commitment to change are inspiring. You and your story are BEAUTIFUL, thank you.

  • Ceredrin

    "I tried. I did try, I have tried, and I am still trying." That's the most we can ask of ourselves, to try, and to keep trying. Beautiful.

  • Marygrace

    Thank you for sharing your story! I felt an immediate connection with your words about your Mom. I’m also grateful (63) that I have been through my journey to learning and changing myself. Your smile is genuine, infectious and so very beautiful and your eyes show your lovely soul!! Here’s to being happy in our later years!

  • Michael

    Jenny if you had said that you're not pretty I might have agreed. However you are exceedingly beautiful.

  • Chris Dawson

    Jenny, thank you for your inspirational honesty, your wisdom and your smile.

  • Danny

    I was inspired by the honesty and the openness I wondered if she had met an open loving heart she may not have needed to be 'moved' by a billboard. I feel inspired to be an open and loving heart for the dark unloved souls who need it more than anything else.

  • Amina

    What a beautiful soul. Thank you, Jenny. Yes, Indeed it's never too late.❤️❤️❤️🕉🕉🕉

  • Bev.

    As Marcel Proust said, and this life portrait so richly embodies, "We do not receive wisdom, we must discover it for ourselves after a journey through the wilderness, which no one else can make for us, which no one can spare us, for our wisdom is the point of view from which we come at last to regard the world."

  • Grace

    this touched me very deeply ! I endured emotional trauma in childhood extended into adulthood family based and beyond... my own release came in the form of vocatonal work commenced rather late in life ... I am a carer - I am not yet fully healed but do take strength from people whom I encounter along this path - it was wonderful to discover you and your honesty - you are beautiful calm and serene ! - how I envy you !

  • David T. Matta

    A life worth living is measured by how it ends, not by how it begins—the greater the tree, the more time it takes to flourish. Blessings!

  • Muralidhara Reddy

    Great video. For you, it took the mid-sixties to find the right turn and right road, and today I am 55 and in a way, I am fortunate that I took the right turn and found the right road at 52, and I have come to terms with my life. Wish every one finds his/her right road much earlier. Thank You.

  • Tara

    My first thought when seeing you, before knowing the topic of the video, was how beautiful you are! I do understand what circumstances and people can do to program self hatred in others. I am so glad you were able to crawl out of the shell created for you. What a noble soul you are.

  • Eileen

    It's never too late to change.

  • Lois

    Oh my, my,my! You are a beauty inside and out! So very sad that your Mother did not get the help she needed to be a good Mom! So blessed are you that despite the abuse, you came to realize after 65 years that you deserved better! Congratulations! Thank you for your honesty!

  • Joyce

    Such beauty in her face and smile and demeanor. Her mother missed her child's beauty by a country mile. Wonderful that this woman found her own beauty.

  • PATRICIA L HILL

    SUCH A BEAUTIFUL SMILE ALL OVER

  • Cathy

    What a beautiful video and a beautiful woman. There is so much I could say; it's so unfortunate that we have standards of what is beautiful set by some arbitrary outside system and perpetuated via the media. It's sad that her parents could not see her as beautiful just as she was. She is a testament that we are able to grow and water the seeds of our innate kindness towards others despite our age.....intention is the key.

  • sandi

    Jenny, you ARE beautiful. So very, very beautiful! Thank you.

  • Christa

    Her beauty , it positively radiates from her!

  • Roseanna Woods

    The title initially attracted me....curious. Very touching film, we are all works in process and if there is some awakening to Life, then there are infinite possibilities. Thanks!

  • Debra Taylor Hager

    My last thought after watching Jenny's video was "What a beautiful woman"! Thank you for this powerful piece. As another "old" person, I appreciate her deep insights.

  • Lisa

    Powerful! Just shows it’s never too late to wake up. Her face reflects the peace she has earned.

  • Grace

    What precious soul who came to herself. She is very much loved.

  • Page 1

  • Learn about other quietly inspiring and beautiful people.
  • Read about how beauty has the power to heal.
  • Dig deep and feel your way to the bottom of a hurt. What is something beautiful you can make of it moving forward?

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