TRUE BEAUTY-WHAT IS IT?

One of the definitions of the word beauty is; The quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind, whether arising from sensory manifestations. There is also the saying which is “Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder”. In today’s modern society many people are fixated on beauty, of their definition of beauty or what is beautiful. Most people see beauty as what is on the surface and often times not taking the time to look beyond.

I have always seen the world differently. I should have realized earlier that I was not as what is called ‘normal”. I never saw anything as ugly, what came across to me about people was their spirit as in the case of my mother’s friend Miss Ruth.

As a child growing up in Kingston Jamaica, having no friends I would sit by my mothers feet on the veranda in the evenings after she came from work and listen to her and her friend Miss Ruth talk about any and everything. Of course if they were going to have “Grown Folks” conversations, they would tell me that I have to go play, after a while I figured out what they were doing and accepted it, I was a child what choice did I have.

I never really looked at beauty from the surface level as I grew, I saw people and their looks from their personalities. Miss Ruth was my mothers friend, a very fair complexion woman, who was very short and what we Jamaicans could describe as ‘Tuku Tuku”, meaning that she was compacted body wise, her breast meeting her waist and the waist meeting the hips and legs and ankles in one. She had a scowl on her face all the time, except when she and my mother were “Giving laugh fi peas soup” in other words when they were chatting and laughing up a storm.

Miss Ruth did not like small children and she definitely did not like me, she never treated me badly in front of my parents or behind them, but I could tell. It was all in her eyes and I saw who Miss Ruth was when she looked at me and I looked back. As a child I had no idea what I saw, except that something felt not right about Miss Ruth and so I hated when I saw her coming through our gate in the evenings, but I said nothing and of course as a Jamaican child raised right, I dared not show attitude.

My mother loved Miss Ruth and would often say to my father that Ruth was a beautiful person, as a child I would look at her ‘Tuku Tuku” body and wonder at my mother’s words. Children and animals are very sharp in their determination of peoples character, trust them!

Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, so the saying goes and I find this to be the truth. I am an artist, I paint, and I see my paintings, my art differently from many people who do the same thing as I or for those who are lovers of  art, this is my opinion of course. I am always fascinated when people look at my paintings and wonder at what is on the canvas. I do abstract art, and often times I am very creative with it as I include nature in my art work. I go out into the woods where I am inspired the most, I am a nature girl, and use leaves and sticks even stones to create art on canvas in the most artistic and unusual way. When I do an exhibition (private), it is most fascinating to hear peoples opinion of what they see of my art and the story it tells.

To me there are may degrees of beauty, and beauty presents itself in many ways. True beauty usually goes unappreciated, unnoticed, because most people sees what is on surface and ignore what shines through from core deep.

As a spiritualist, I do not look at surface beauty of anyone, for too often this has been a disappointment. I am compassionate, so when people pass by the ugly baby who stretches out his arms for love, bypassing him for the cute chubby, dimply smile baby, my compassion let me cuddle the one who is looked over because to them he is ugly.

It is so easy to criticize when looking at the physical body, this one is fat, that one is too thin, he or she has a huge nose, her mouth is wide, his teeth are missing, she has no ass, he has a big ass for a man, wow is he ugly!, Her head shapes like a saddle, his looks like a cow, what an ugly baby! Look at those lips, have you ever seen someone so black? Hey pimple face!

All this, while looking at Kim Kardashian as perfection (insert laughter here!)

The descriptions and criticisms are many, but the great understanding that these physicalities which obscures the mind from appreciating the beauty within a person, holds us back from our own self realization, we are so busy looking and criticizing that we cannot see the person for really who they are and even why they have (in some cases ) come into our lives. Often times seeing some people and determining that they are ugly is a reflection upon ourselves, a person who can criticize anything that God created needs to look into themselves.

There are realms out into time and space that the beings there would be very hard to look upon, yet they are the most benevolent, and also some where the beings there are so beautiful yet they are the most evil.

It comes down to perception and intelligence, wisdom guides these two. I love to be in the company of old people, I have learned a lot from them, they impart what they know through regular speech and in the case of my Jamaican rum head friends with a little help from Mr. J.Ray and his nephews (Jamaican white rum).

Often times when I visit Jamaica, I would stop at a road side bar (no to drink, as I do not drink, but to do as I am writing about and that is to speak to these people, call me weird), where you find some little old men there, drinking and having a good time, many of them toothless, some of them have the faces of hard work drawn across in the lines they hold, many can “Hold ” their liquor and when they get to talking the jewels they drop, cannot be learned in any great University.

Look deeper into to the people you meet, allow yourself to see farther that what you have been seeing so  far, Beauty is more than what is on surface, the real beauty is attached to the soul and shines through the spirit. Consider a dog and how he reacts to someone who may want to pet him, he sees far deeper than us, his reaction has nothing to do with whats on surface, its what resonates from beyond.

Enjoy the article below;

https://www.keen.com/articles/love/what-is-true-beauty

There are a thousand definitions of beauty. And there are many degrees of each. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. There is sadness in beauty. Beauty can be ugly. It is a concept that has haunted poets, artists and academics for centuries.

Males are visual creatures. In their minds’ eye, like the posters teenage boys hang on their bedroom walls, men have an inflated idea of beauty. But to see how he really finds beauty in his surroundings, look at the girl with whom he spends time and feels most comfortable. She is often the opposite of the bedroom poster, maybe a friends, sister, aunt or cousin. She is the one he enjoys being with most. To be able to laugh with someone, we must drop our guards. Beauty is to be free and to act naturally. Oddly, getting there can be difficult.

Today, messages and information are aimed at us in very new ways. It is happening faster than humans can adapt and evolve. Life is demanding more than we can give. In turn, you rely on text messages rather than physical conversation. The heart is missing in our lives and you must bring it back.

We judge the book by its cover. It’s usually untrue and unwise, but we place a great weight of importance on the first impression. In truth, a first impression offers fast, mostly visual cues, to make an assumption of another. Physical appearance is the first thing we see and it becomes our Achilles heel. The first impression is always the most expensive.

It is expensive because of what we lose. The priority one sets on appearances in the physical realm is to deny oneself the quality and beauty of the spirit. If you choose to focus on the beauty within, you will receive the value of true communication with another. To ignore the essence of another is to deny your own humanity.

Beauty has always been costly. By the time you have been plucked, pinched and enhanced, you can easily spend a fortune on the latest product or the most popular nip and tuck. The pursuit of beauty can also deny nature. In the fevered race to erase a wrinkle, we try to stop time and the slow and inevitable progress of nature. It is a fight no human can win. Beauty can also be a sport or a goal. Can you be more beautiful than you already are? No. Sure, every car needs a fresh coat of paint and a few new pin stripes but the real, true beauty comes from within your chassis.

There is boldness in choice and people can easily recognize it in you. To choose beauty, determines that you have pondered the question, objectified the issues and made a choice. You have asked, “What will I project today? What will I put out into the world?” Then you choose and follow it through. Embracing victimhood is a way to lick your past wounds but it never yields any positive future-oriented gains. You lead by example. Choose beauty.

Look at a flower as you would look upon a work of art. Appreciate it. Enjoy it. Relax and just let it all in. Then look at yourself the same way. You are a perfect and unique creation of nature, just like a flower. This may be hard to do and you must persist through all of the negativity and voices in your head. Remember those voices do not speak truth. They are merely the echoes of insecurity and comic relief. Appreciation for beauty isn’t forced. Beauty cannot be beaten into you. Beauty must be invited and it must flow. If you want to exhibit your true nature, all you can do is let go.

It is hard to let go. These days, with Life howling around us like a hurricane, we instinctively try to hang on for dear life. To be beautiful, to live in the flow, is a monumentally important task that requires only openness, desire and a few simple actions.

Silence is the key that unlocks the mystery. A quiet meditation. Say a prayer. Sit down and have a little chat with yourself. Open this door and you will be answered with your own beauty.

Do something that makes you happy. Let go and take the time for yourself. Something simple. Call a friend. Go to a movie. Get a massage. You do not need to spend a hundred dollars. Shop, but don’t buy anything, at a flower shop. Bake a cake. Take a hike. Do something that is purposed for you. When this happens, your beauty will begin to show. Others will recognize it and be drawn to it. You have allowed your beauty to flow.

Kò sí ohun tí sùúrù sè tí kò jinná. /
There is nothing ‘cooked’ by patience that won’t get done….Yoruba Proverb!

[Don’t give up.]

Everything comes when it must, and everything happens for a reason, do not hurry your life, what is destined for you, cannot escape you, just keep the faith, be patient and be prayerful, filled with compassion, kindness and respect for all, let these qualities be among your name, God will fill in the rest…..Obara Meji!

All religions are valid as long as it teaches peace and love….Obara Meji

There are no disappointments in life, only lessons learned!….Obara Meji