Beyond the Surface
Beyond the Surface
To judge the whole solely by the surface of it is like measuring the boundless universe by the depth of the clouds. If the storm shakes the leaves of the trees, the universe still remains calm and unaffected by the wind.
To know the universe would be the true evaluation of it. The clouds are only a misrepresentation of what the universe is, because it is only the surface, the only physical aspect, as how it appears to the eye. Judgment of the whole goes deeper beyond the surface, where only someone with a multi-dimensional awareness can be judgmental.
If someone has these visual qualities, he also must be empathetic to the nature of someone’s actions when he seeks to know him. To discern good or evil, right or wrong, beauty or ugliness, is to know sometimes more than the person does about himself. Only God, our creator, can be worthy of such judgment, especially because he is the source of actions, the direct manifestations of feelings and emotions.
Because someone is ugly on the outside doesn’t mean he is ugly under the surface. It has nothing to do with the whole person.
Beauty, through the ages is a misrepresentation of virtue. Beauty attracts people to it, where they want to be surrounded by it. They can’t and don’t want to see anything else. They can’t see anything beyond the surface of things, because they are mesmerized by what beauty does to them, with its spiritual, uplifting manner.
Virtue and outer beauty are like the clouds and universe; both far apart and unaffected by the other’s actions.
