<p class="bodytext">None of us can deny it. We are all drawn to what is beautiful – whether it be a beautiful person or a lovely scene from Nature. For many of us, anything beautiful is an outward sign of goodness. No wonder then that children love cuddly toys, soft clothing and colorful pictures. Fortunately, this is a passing phase. As we mature, our notions of beauty and pleasure deepen and become more complex. Physical beauty, we find, is rather shallow and unsatisfying. We discover that this can be a veneer which hides much that is undesirable, much like the glistening pool of cool, placid water which holds depths that are deceptive and destructive.</p>.<p class="bodytext">We come to see that beauty is more a reflection of the spiritual self. It is generosity and kindness of spirit. True beauty is inner radiance. We find that virtue is not the boring concept it is made out to be, but quintessential to the making of a good person. This helps us to straighten our priorities, to realise that honesty, dependability and truth are intrinsic to Beauty.</p>.A proverb decoded.<p class="bodytext">The poet Keats in his ‘<span class="italic">Ode to the Grecian urn</span>’, writes ‘Truth is Beauty and Beauty Truth. That is all ye know on earth and all ye need to know.’ What did he really mean? He wanted to convey that Beauty lies in Truth. They are inextricably linked and therefore the highest Beauty lies in being truthful. There is a saying, ‘In middle age we have the faces we deserve.’ Everyone knows the wreckage that selfishness and dishonesty can leave on the faces of old beauties. Even their gestures tell us what they are. When we are kind, sympathetic and compassionate, we will be good to look at.</p>.<p class="bodytext">As a valued friend quoted recently, ‘Rivers do not drink their own water, trees do not eat their own fruit. The sun does not shine on itself and flowers do not spread their fragrance for themselves. Living for others is a rule of Nature.</p>.<p class="bodytext">We are all born to help each other. Life is good when you are happy, but much better when others are happy because of you.’ Acceptance and tenderness are more beautiful than a flawless skin or curling hair. Don’t we all deserve these in our relationships?</p>
<p class="bodytext">None of us can deny it. We are all drawn to what is beautiful – whether it be a beautiful person or a lovely scene from Nature. For many of us, anything beautiful is an outward sign of goodness. No wonder then that children love cuddly toys, soft clothing and colorful pictures. Fortunately, this is a passing phase. As we mature, our notions of beauty and pleasure deepen and become more complex. Physical beauty, we find, is rather shallow and unsatisfying. We discover that this can be a veneer which hides much that is undesirable, much like the glistening pool of cool, placid water which holds depths that are deceptive and destructive.</p>.<p class="bodytext">We come to see that beauty is more a reflection of the spiritual self. It is generosity and kindness of spirit. True beauty is inner radiance. We find that virtue is not the boring concept it is made out to be, but quintessential to the making of a good person. This helps us to straighten our priorities, to realise that honesty, dependability and truth are intrinsic to Beauty.</p>.A proverb decoded.<p class="bodytext">The poet Keats in his ‘<span class="italic">Ode to the Grecian urn</span>’, writes ‘Truth is Beauty and Beauty Truth. That is all ye know on earth and all ye need to know.’ What did he really mean? He wanted to convey that Beauty lies in Truth. They are inextricably linked and therefore the highest Beauty lies in being truthful. There is a saying, ‘In middle age we have the faces we deserve.’ Everyone knows the wreckage that selfishness and dishonesty can leave on the faces of old beauties. Even their gestures tell us what they are. When we are kind, sympathetic and compassionate, we will be good to look at.</p>.<p class="bodytext">As a valued friend quoted recently, ‘Rivers do not drink their own water, trees do not eat their own fruit. The sun does not shine on itself and flowers do not spread their fragrance for themselves. Living for others is a rule of Nature.</p>.<p class="bodytext">We are all born to help each other. Life is good when you are happy, but much better when others are happy because of you.’ Acceptance and tenderness are more beautiful than a flawless skin or curling hair. Don’t we all deserve these in our relationships?</p>
