Your mind’s beauty is shown
Throughout the world like
The canvas which has been
Influenced by perception’s hues of color.
The world just mirrors beauty of mind.
The design is so complicated and perfect
In its detail that the only thing wrong about it
Is our vision –
All full of prejudice scribing concepts
That criticize creation’s masterpiece,
That state what is good and evil.
People do not ever see their evil;
We claim to fight it and invoke demons.
This is a holy place for evildoers.
Would we not have different perceptions
If we could make this world a better place,
Marked everywhere in light of day?
Ignoring the narrative
That remains largely unheard,
Of kindness by deed
That does not involve any sound or sign.
When volunteers give their time
To gentle creatures,
With a loving hand they rear otters.
And parents working day
And night without rest in this unfriendly world
To raise up their kids well.
Healers give away their skills,
Others give to feed the starving.
Isn’t it what we refer to as goodness?
The stories that deserve to be appreciated.
It’s high time that we balanced tales:
One part illumination, one part obscurity.
For a word that describes both the internal and external beauty
Within and around us, it should be “love”.
The beauty that we see in this world of wonder
And woe
Defines who we are as individuals.
Let us now narrate
The comprehensive story
According to which all shine
As distinct brilliant stars.
The Kaleidoscope of Perception
Isn’t it fascinating how our minds shape the world we see? This piece really delves into the power of perception and the beauty that exists both within and around us.
Think about the world mirroring the beauty of the mind. It’s like what the philosopher Immanuel Kant meant when he said, “We see things not as they are, but as we are.” Our perceptions color everything we experience.
In “Totality and Infinity,” Levinas writes, “The face of the Other at each moment destroys and overflows the plastic image it leaves me.” This idea is reflected in the poem’s lines “The world just mirrors beauty of mind,” suggesting that our perception of others and the world is deeply influenced by our own mental state and preconceptions.
And that idea of our vision being full of prejudice? It’s not just about being judgmental. It’s tapping into what psychologists call “cognitive bias.” As Daniel Kahneman put it, “We can be blind to the obvious, and we are also blind to our blindness.”
The poem’s critique of prejudice and the tendency to categorize good and evil echoes Levinas’s call for an ethics based on the irreducibility of the Other. As Levinas states, “The Other precisely reveals himself in his alterity not in a shock negating the I, but as the primordial phenomenon of gentleness.”
The concept of evil being a holy place for evildoers – that’s hitting on something profound about human nature. It reminds me of Carl Jung’s words: “The shadow is a moral problem that challenges the whole ego-personality, for no one can become conscious of the shadow without considerable moral effort.”
Now, when it talks about the unheard narrative of kindness, it’s like what the news reporter Catherine Ryan Hyde meant when she coined the term “Pay It Forward.” She said, “That’s what life is all about: Let’s see what we can do for each other.”
The idea of balancing tales between illumination and obscurity? It’s not just about storytelling. It’s about recognizing the full spectrum of human experience. As Maya Angelou beautifully put it, “We are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike.”
So what does all this mean? Well, maybe it’s about recognizing that our perceptions shape our reality, but also that we have the power to shape our perceptions. It’s about seeing the beauty in the world, in others, and in ourselves.
Remember, every time you choose to see the good, to appreciate the unsung acts of kindness, you’re contributing to a more beautiful world. As Mahatma Gandhi said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”
So next time you look at the world, try to see it with fresh eyes. Look for the beauty, the kindness, the love. Because in the end, isn’t that what makes life rich? This ability to see the wonder amidst the woe, to recognize that we all shine, as the poem says, “as distinct brilliant stars.”