Do What is Beautiful
Do what is beautiful to BE beautiful.
“The ugly may be beautiful, the pretty, never”
Paul Gauguin, Artist (1848-1903).
Ah beauty, the efforts we put in to attain you. How readily apparent yet elusive you are when I attempt to see you in the mirror sometimes.
In our visually-driven culture, the term “beauty” is synonymous with cosmetics, hairstyles, personal grooming, or anything to enhance one’s countenance. However, we are all taught that beauty is “skin deep” and beyond visual representation. The subject of Aesthetics is an integral part of the philosophical discourse. Several schools of philosophy attempt to define the elements that compose the idea of beauty. For Plato, beauty is inextricably related to what is “good”. Aristotle echoes Pythagoras’ conclusion that what is symmetrical and harmoniously aligned compose the characteristics of what can be considered “beautiful”. Fast forward to the 18th century, the mystic Emmanuel Swedenborg proclaimed that the essence of beauty is what is in line with “truth”. All postulations imply that “beauty” is a type of energy that elicits a particular experience.
The Sufi tradition (the mystical branch of Islam) best articulates the concept of “beauty” as an embodied energy. Embedded in this mystical dimension is the teaching of “Ihsan”, which derives from a verb meaning, “to do what is beautiful”. While actions in and of themselves do not necessarily lead to aesthetic beauty, outer beauty can only be enhanced so much. Our actions are far more within our control and carry more substance.
Our actions, thoughts, and words convey an energetic signature that inevitably affects all who we come into contact with. They all reflect our intentions. What makes an action “beautiful” is the sincerity and authenticity from which it comes from, and the goodness it contributes. From our friendships to our romantic relationships, to our professional interactions with colleagues, we want to ask, “am I doing what is beautiful? Are my words or the tone of my voice creating connection and solidarity?” We are always in a position to offer support. If we cannot offer solutions, we can offer empathy or advocacy, letting the other know that they are not alone.
To say things that make another person feel regret or guilt is only to harm ourselves because it only distance us from others. What do you plan on achieving? What point are you trying to make? For the sake of our career advancement, without hesitation, we instinctively “throw others under the bus” and then justify ourselves saying, “well, that’s just the world we live in. I am only here to look out for myself”. Perhaps it is “lonely at the top” because we have alienated everyone else and nobody of any worth wants to be around you because your actions have already proven you will always default to being an a**hole. If is lonely at the top, then are we actually successful? Is it worth disempowering another person? Disrespecting others does not make you any stronger or bolder, it only signals your own emptiness and your belief that there is not enough success to go around. Kindness is what makes you beautiful, not control, not power, not dominance or external beauty. It is the kindness that you give to others, and to know that you are already an endless reservoir of goodness.
To do what is beautiful means to understand ourselves as complete. When we see ourselves as complete, the natural impetus is to share, to understand that there is already enough to go around because you are seeing beyond yourself. To do what is beautiful means to not make a show of yourself or prompt others to feel less than adequate, but to encourage growth and care, to help awaken the abundant light of goodness within others. We are not meant to be these isolated, cut-throat beings. We are better than that. Make your actions beautiful to BE beautiful.
#kindnessIsGangsta #SayHello #Abundance
