The dictates of society regarding how we should look and behave have a toxic effect on all of us. Women are degraded when they don't look how patriarchal society, made up of men and women, have decided how they should look and behave and men often have a false sense of power that they have not earned and it would appear that they don't know what to do with anyway.
I'm glad I was raised by a good missionary's daughter. Mom always told us, "Pretty is as pretty does." Beauty comes from within our hearts and is evidenced by our words and actions, not our appearance. Yeah, being a teenager makes you worry for a time about being good-looking enough to get a date, but fortunately those hormones fade and you realize that you are "beautiful" because someone truly loved you just for being you. Thanks for the reminder, Diana.
I've found the "Pretty is as pretty does" to be true.
When you first meet a person, they might be pretty in the traditional sense, but as you get to know them they become more or less 'pretty' as their character reveals itself.
I've met some "gorgeous" individuals (they worked in TV/ film) and found a few them quite "ugly" in their manners and words. I'm not impressed by their outward form anymore.
Walking in the dark rainy forests of winter I saw them in a different way. Everything was black and soaked in heavy rain except the ferns, so vibrant green, they loved the rain. Tree stumps old and craggy, wrapped in blankets of soft green moss revealed themselves in their whimsical shapes and sizes, like volcanoes blown out, twisting and turning according to arcane natural laws insisting on their survival. That was when I started a series of drawings about tree stumps and their origins in sacred forests in the grand solitude.
Your quote, "I appreciate beauty everywhere I see it — and I see it everywhere! — but I know that there’s so much more breadth and depth to beauty. I know it’s not just an end in and of itself." And I do the same, seeing the presence of the Creator in all of it.
The dictates of society regarding how we should look and behave have a toxic effect on all of us. Women are degraded when they don't look how patriarchal society, made up of men and women, have decided how they should look and behave and men often have a false sense of power that they have not earned and it would appear that they don't know what to do with anyway.
I'm glad I was raised by a good missionary's daughter. Mom always told us, "Pretty is as pretty does." Beauty comes from within our hearts and is evidenced by our words and actions, not our appearance. Yeah, being a teenager makes you worry for a time about being good-looking enough to get a date, but fortunately those hormones fade and you realize that you are "beautiful" because someone truly loved you just for being you. Thanks for the reminder, Diana.
I've found the "Pretty is as pretty does" to be true.
When you first meet a person, they might be pretty in the traditional sense, but as you get to know them they become more or less 'pretty' as their character reveals itself.
I've met some "gorgeous" individuals (they worked in TV/ film) and found a few them quite "ugly" in their manners and words. I'm not impressed by their outward form anymore.
The poem brought me to tears… loved it!
It usually brings me to tears too, Amara, no matter how many times I hear it.
Beautiful. Shukran for sharing and for the beauty that is your heart ♥️
Thank you, Najwan, and for your heart too.
Walking in the dark rainy forests of winter I saw them in a different way. Everything was black and soaked in heavy rain except the ferns, so vibrant green, they loved the rain. Tree stumps old and craggy, wrapped in blankets of soft green moss revealed themselves in their whimsical shapes and sizes, like volcanoes blown out, twisting and turning according to arcane natural laws insisting on their survival. That was when I started a series of drawings about tree stumps and their origins in sacred forests in the grand solitude.
Pretty
Damn good.
Pardon me if I have sent you this before.
I am Not an Island
I'm not an island
I'm a woman
I'm a lover, I am a giver
I have sisters
I'm a woman
I'm not an island
I am not a piece of property
That you can or can't afford
I am not your trader's favorite stock
But I'm not to be ignored
I am strong within my boundaries
I am not your fair absurd
I'm the fount of our salvation
And I will have the final word.
I'm not an island
I'm a woman
I'm a lover, I am a giver
I have sisters
I'm a woman
I'm not an island.
I am the mighty hurricane
That will beat upon your shores
I am a resurrection
I am knocking on your doors
Do you think that I am kidding
Do you even think at all
While you play your favorite pastimes
And throw your favorite balls
I'm not an island
I'm a woman
I'm a lover, I am a giver
I have sisters
I'm a woman
I'm not an island.
I am thriving in the sunlight
I am living my ballet
I will harken to that music
As I hear my sisters play
With one step for the future
And one for all mankind
We shall weave this dance together
And advance in pace and kind.
I'm not an island
I'm a woman
I'm a lover, I am a giver
I have sisters
I'm a woman
I'm not an island.
Malcolm J McKinney 2023
Beautiful
Did you check out the poem, Rena? It's from 2002, but it's so powerful.
I did. I'm familiar with it.
Wow!
Your quote, "I appreciate beauty everywhere I see it — and I see it everywhere! — but I know that there’s so much more breadth and depth to beauty. I know it’s not just an end in and of itself." And I do the same, seeing the presence of the Creator in all of it.
Diana, your piece was amazing and beautiful. Thank you. ❤️
Thanks so much, Radha!
Thank you, Diana! This is outstanding.
Thanks so much, Heidi! I'm glad you think so.
Of course! And I really respect Laurie Stone.:) So glad she’s on Substack. Do you go to her Zoom meetings?
Dynamic poem by Katie Makkai! Loved your comments too, Diana (and the artwork!).
Thanks, Leon. That was a very early piece.
Beautiful piece about beuty! Loved listening to Katie Makkai deliver her poem, "Pretty."