Insights and Beauty

At 6:45 in the morning, when I should wander in my dreams, I sit here with you, the anonymous reader (at the least, one of you is me, am I not?).

We make plans for our day one way or another.  We may sit in tents in foreign fields, strategising.  We may sit, stand or prostrate in a place of worship.  We may think of nothing more than one bite to eat or a single drop of water to quench our thirst.

We may, given our drive to pursue life, seek beauty.

And yet, what is beauty?

Well, I'm a little sleepy this morning, too encumbered by heavy eyelids and a desire to walk back into my dreams to collect the sayings and thoughts of others before me who defined beauty in one form or another.



My Yale Book of Quotations is buried in a pile of reference material; however, I have a dictionary of quotations by Bergen Evans on top of another pile to give you, "Beauty, like supreme dominion,/ Is but supported by opinion," a quip by Benjamin Franklin in his Poor Richard's Almanack (1741).

I imagine Ben in a hurry to get his next edition of the almanac to the printing press while thinking up his ditties on the fly, a bit of wisdom mixed with expediency to make rhyme for one word with another, neither especially insightful yet humourous despite the rushed sentiment.

Beauty is a voice.  Beauty is a word, spoken sincerely, whispered serenely, written meaningfully.  Beauty is found in consensus and independence.

Beauty is a jury of your peers.

Beauty is sixteen people united by individual desires and motivations, irrefutably in conflict with one another philosophically, to accomplish a single purpose: to make sure everyone counts.

Beauty is a lack of adverbs to describe an ideal in your thoughts.

Beauty requires no verb form of "to be."  Beauty does not have to be.  Beauty :: Experientially.

Beauty exists in what makes us plan our day.

In other words, this moment equates to beauty.  Or any moment ...

... The moment a person takes your picture with a mobile phone because you represent some form of beauty, whether it be the look of your face, the work of your hands, or a demonstration of your intellect.

... The moment two animals say in their own way that the ideal plumage / fur pattern / mating dance is found in the other.

Beauty is the tiniest flower and the biggest aircraft carrier.

Beauty neither gives nor takes away.  Beauty connects the ideal image of one to the ideal image of the other.

Can you now see why every moment is full of beauty ... beautiful?

Plan your day knowing every moment exists beside the ideal image of you and your day becomes timeless, your friendships permanent, your value to yourself and others infinite.

No matter who you are or what you plan to do with your day.