Je ne sais quoi

A few years ago, I saw a good friend of mine at our pool. She looked fabulous. She always looks great, in great shape and always fashionable. So, I said, "Mary, you look amazing" and she said to me, "Liz, so do you. You have je ne sais quoi".

I've heard the expression before but never really understood what it meant. So, I went home and looked it up. It's a French phrase and the exact translation, according to the Merriam Webster dictionary is "something (such as an appealing quality) that cannot be adjacently described or expressed".

I thought about this. Appealing quality stood out. It didn't say beautiful. It didn't say intelligent. Just an appealing quality that words cannot describe. Quite a compliment I thought. And the more I thought about it, the more I realized we all have a "Je ne sais quoi" about us. Nothing to do with physical beauty or intelligence.

Then what is it? Maybe it's the way we listen to each other or our acceptance of each other. Maybe it's our sense of humor or our infectious laugh or the way we invite people into our lives. Maybe it's our character that emits honesty and inclusiveness.

We do not have to have the best body or face or hair. Or whatever we think we lack to be perfect. We just need to embrace our unique differences, embrace that special trait or traits we have, that make us unforgettable. That describe us as indescribable - A je ne sais que quality.