We do it to ourselves, you know, and to each other.
Have you ever noticed how many of our conversations are about looks?
"You look nice today."
"Cute shoes! "
"Is that a new outfit?"
"I’m having a bad-hair day."
It places an overinflated value on appearance.
Ed said,
When men found the mirror
They began to lose their souls.
The point, of course, is that
They began to concern themselves
With their images rather than
Their selves." --Stan Herman
Maybe it’s why I like to read Jane Austen books. Their conversations are about the particulars of a person’s character. Not that it doesn’t show in the way they dress and act and live, but her characters purpose to know a person’s soul.
We don't do that in today's society. Maybe we would feel like we were judging people. Maybe we just don’t have the words for it.
So we read books, so we can know the inner thoughts and motives of other people.
Then we close our book, go visit friends, and say, “How nice you look.”
What if we said instead, “How nice you are,”
and took the time to know a soul.
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5 comments:
I often sit in church and think how wonderful it would be if you could see a person's soul rather than their body. When I was little I used to think I could see a halo kind of light around some people's heads (I have no idea what I was really seeing) so I was always fascinated by what was really inside that person (meaning a good soul or a not so good one). It would be nice to eliminate the outside nonsense at some point.
How right you are. It's sad too that often we judge the value of our soul on how others perceive our appearance. I hope to one day be like Micah. He can look at anyone for the first time and anticipate the many things he is going to like about them. At the same time I'm already summing them up and congratulating or condeming according to appearance. Now that it's been thrown in my face I will learn, and I will change.
Having been judged by my looks negatively, I have tried hard not to do the same to others. But I do find myself doing it from time to time. You are so right. We should be looking at the inside. It can just be so difficult to SEE the inside of a person. To someone I do know the soul of, I'd just like to say this; Mom, how nice you are!
does this mean I have to like my kids computer teacher with her fake breasts, short shorts and coffee in hand? dang it! ;)
Jill, you may not come back to read this, but I had a friend who had a little boy who also saw halos around people. I haven't seen him since he grew up, but I think you both must have a special sensitivity to goodness and to other people.
Do you think that gift was lost as you grew and become less child-like? or does it just manifest itself differently?
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