Recently toward the end of a transformative workshop week, one of our compadres said to another, “If I could show you your own heart, you would fall in love with you.”

This beautiful sentiment is a common feeling when you get to know someone from the inside out. Unfortunately, our society has gotten it backward. We get to know each other by judging our demographics, Linkedin profiles, the way we dress, and the cars we drive. It’s hard to move past the skin when all our perceptions are on the surface.

But what happens when we stop hiding behind our fashions, opinions, and impressive resumes? Can we love (and be loved) for something as simple as a smile, our integrity, or vulnerability? If you’d asked me that five years ago, I would have answered yes (albeit without much experience). Today, I am certain it’s possible.

Now that we’ve been enlightened witnesses of more than 80 workshop cohorts where the thin veil between public image and private reality has been pierced, I know that one’s character is the ultimate beauty mark. I also know that the kind-hearted and graceful way we carry ourselves through life is what the world will fall in love with.