This week was going to be the last in my rigid airship series. However, last week while on my private Facebook page (I guess I should say personal as nothing on FB is private) a friend of mine sent a “personal” message asking why “so-and-so” was one of my friends. Though most of my facebook friends are veterans, writers, or people I went to school with, they are as different from one another as night and day. And I value each and everyone of them. I started to send my friend an answer, not my first on this subject. The answer became statement of my view on the world. I have decided to share it with you. As always, I do not discuss religion, politics, or money (my grandfather always said it was in poor taste to discuss these things in front of company), but I do mention my own personal beliefs towards the end. If you agree with me … fine, if you don’t … fine. Our friendship is not dependent on our personal beliefs of the after life. I accept you as you are and only ask that you accept me as I am. I hope you find something useful below, but if nothing else you will understand who I am a little better.
The Ugly, the Beautiful & the Barrier
There are really only three types of people in the world; you are the ugly, the beautiful or the barrier. The barrier stands between the ugly and the beautiful, protecting the beautiful from the ugly. The beautiful spread hope by showing others that hope, beauty, joy and love reside within us all and that no person is an exception. The ugly destroys hope, exalts surface beauty over inner beauty, suppresses joy and spreads hate not love.
There are sub-types of beauty and barrier too. They are easy to spot if you know what to look for. The first two believe that one day the ugly will be defeated and then all will be beauty. Then one day they realize that ugly will not be totally defeated and they become embittered and disillusioned. They decide that the ugly could be defeated if we just forced people to do what they should do.
The Embittered barrier turns on the beauty at first and then on the barrier that does not support change by coercion. The Embittered beauty turns on the barrier at first and then on the beauty that does not support change by coercion. Both stop blaming the ugly for all the ugliness in the world and instead blame the barrier and the beauty.
Another sub-type of barrier and beauty are those who realize that ugly has always existed and always will, but they are content to help just one person on this one day. Today they will help just one, and that will be enough for today. The war will never end, but today will be victory for one person. Today a person who is in despair, cold, hungry, or sick; someone who can longer see the light will once again feel hope within their breast, love will caress their soul, joy will light their path and once again they will see the beauty that surrounds us all. These two realize you cannot force an outcome. They realize that when you try to force people to do something, they will do the opposite. Can you force someone to be happy or to love you? Of course not, but the embittered and disillusioned will not be deterred.
There are no sub-types of ugly, but ugly is very good at getting the disillusioned and embittered among the beautiful and the barrier to do their work for them. The ugly takes great joy from this.
The second sub-type of the barrier willing sacrifices themselves in the path of the ugly to protect the beauty, both literally and figuratively. It is written, “No greater love has a man than he lay down his life for another.” This sacrifice is not without its price and leaves both seen and unseen scars on those of the barrier. The pain of these scars are with those of the barrier always and rob them of the beauty, joy and love they once had. But not the hope, their hope is that their sacrifice will protect the beauty from the ugly. They mourn the loss of those who sacrificed themselves before, and this is the most painful scar of all. These are the people I respect, these are people I honor, these are the people who are my heroes.
The second type of the beauty are often undervalued and underrated by the rest of us. People see the joy and love that burst forth from them, as if from a wellspring, and think “it is easy for them to be happy they know nothing of pain.” But, the beauty are the most scarred of us all. They remember the pain, but they do not carry it like an albatross around their necks. They change the things they can change and accept the things they cannot. Fortunately, for us they have the wisdom to know the difference. They have not forgotten the pain, but they do not dwell in a past that cannot be changed. They focus on today; this focus is what allows them to spread beauty to us all, if we will only let them. We have to let them, for they will not attempt to force beauty on us. The beautiful know that by attempting to force beauty on others they will only spread ugly. Often these are the people we see as the weakest and most naive among us, but they are the strongest and wisest among us. Of all the types and sub-types they are the most rare.
I was raised in the Southern Baptist church and taught on a regular basis, “money is the root of all evil.” Money is not the root of all evil. Let me say that again, “money is not the root of all evil.” The lust for power is the root of all evil. The ugly use money to increase their own power for their own gratification. But the ugly do not need money to exert power over others. Have you ever seen the face of a man, woman, or child who is under the power of the ugly? The ugly constantly berates them, “You are worthless, you are so lucky to have me because no one else would ever love you!” The ugly constantly berate them with this because it is the only way their victims will believe the lie. This lie is the tool the ugly wields over the victim, the tool that controls the victim and robs them of everything that is precious in life. The victims fear the ugly. This fear is the goal of the ugly because it gives them their power over their victims. What the ugly do not know is that eventually fear exhausts the fearful to the point of apathy towards the tormentor.
Hate consumes all around it and eventually even consumes the hater as well. Love grows to encompass all with its light and joy, the more we embrace it the more light and joy grow and expand. The embittered and disillusioned barrier and beauty are not lost. They can return to where they once were. But, it has to be a decision each one makes on his or her own, this decision cannot be forced by others.
I do believe in a God. I do believe in life after death. I do not concern myself with the ugly, I leave those to God. I do believe the barrier and the beauty are doing the work God has set before them, they work on His account. I also believe:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons and daughters of God
Blessed are they who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
These are the gifts God has for the beauty and the barrier. They are His gifts to give; we cannot take these gifts or force them for ourselves or others.
Love will triumph over hate. Eventually, the war will end and ugly will lose. All of their power will not save them, they will lose and they do not even know it.
Each of us has our own belief system. A truth, if you will, that we have arrived at for ourselves. A truth that has been revealed to us by our experiences over the course of our lives. As our life continues we modify it, but it is our own truth. This is my truth. I do not know the journey you must travel, discard or accept (in whole or part) any part of this as it suites your needs, but this is my truth.
May you always know peace, joy and love.
P.S. Next week will be the last of my airship articles for the summer … I promise. Then the following week I’ll introduce you to a remarkable man, a man responsible for my view of history and the reason behind my style of historical research and writing.
Related articles
- “The only real elegance is in the mind; (swankaposh.wordpress.com)
- Pretty As, Pretty Does…… (sonnisideup.wordpress.com)
- Ugly People Become Filthy Rich Or Rise To The Top In Politics To Take Revenge On The Good Looking Ones (stirringtroubleinternationally.com)
- Beauty and Ugliness (abstractpotential.wordpress.com)
- Teaching My Girls About Beauty – What I wish I was told as a kid (babble.com)
- It’s the Ugly Things I Notice More, Because Other People Tend to Ignore the Ugly Things (sabriyahtheteenagewitch.wordpress.com)
- Ugly Beauty (theanonyblogger.wordpress.com)
- How to Stop being Ugly Today (thelemonaidproject.wordpress.com)
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