Birds sing,
Dogs bark,
Fish swim,
And Mary Catherine Shurett, is a damn good woman.

These are all things I know to be true.

It’s not like I needed to tell y’all that though. Everyone that meets her says the same thing. She is one of the most likeable and lovable people most of us will ever meet.

But here’s the thing. You might hear me say this and think to yourself “oh jeez, there goes another gorgeous, perfect woman that I have to compare myself to”. And normally, you’d be right. It’s true, she is stunning, and charismatic, and desirable — but there’s plenty of stunning, charismatic and desirable women.

What makes Mary Catherine Shurett a damn good woman is her generosity, and the way she makes other people feel. That’s what real beauty does, it makes you feel beautiful, it doesn’t just give you something to admire.

When we experience the beauty of nature, it’s not a separateness, it’s a feeling of communion. We are a part of the experience and it rubs off on us. When we leave that experience we see ourselves as more beautiful.

When we look at a magazine and see models or advertisements selling us products, we don’t leave feeling inspired or connected, we leave feeling separate and not enough.

What Mary Catherine offers people is a chance to experience a generous, inclusive kind of beauty. She makes other people feel about themselves, the way they feel about her. She has a way of appreciating and admiring others that is both deeply intuitive and unquestionably nourishing.

At a time when social media and the unprecedented growth of personal branding has us all focus on how brightly we shine, Mary Catherine is balancing that out by focusing on how her light illuminates others.

As someone who’s been the lucky recipient of this, I recommend experiencing it directly to her versus watching from a distance. There is a magic in the way she is able to interact with people, and time after time, I’ve watched as she’s left me feeling brighter, smarter and happier, as she has done for countless others who have spent time with her and inevitably walked away with one simple thought:

That’s a damn good woman.