Carry beauty with you
By Jean Ricot Dormeus
Danish poet Hans Christian Anderson wrote a memorable piece about beauty and transformation, “the ugly duckling”. The little bird was born in a barnyard and suffered contempt, verbal and physical abuse from the others because of her appearance. She had to live a lonely life fleeing from one place to another until the day came when she joined a flock of swans and realized she was one of them with the same beauty. This story speaks to billions around the world who cannot see their own beauty and are subject to mockery and disdain from others.
Every human being shares in God’s glory, because we are all made in his image. No physical distortion or damage can destroy this glorious signature. However, our beauty may be overshadowed by an undesirable inner life marked by evil thoughts and emotions. When we start seeing beauty in everyone, we end up developing awareness of our own.
Culture assigns degrees of attractiveness to different physical features. These standards usually do not stand the vagaries of life and the patina of time. The gold standard of beauty is a good spirit. Only a good spirit elevates us to appreciate our neighbor, a melodious piece of music, or a great painting. While visible beauty withers, inner beauty remains forever.
Genuine beauty lies in our hearts and minds and reflects in our attitude. A character imbued with love, grace, peace and diligence will always be beautiful. We seek to express our beauty with garments, ornaments and fragrance. We naturally project beauty through our character. Emerson got it right: “Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us, or we find it not.”
Jean Ricot Dormeus
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