A little time for Beauty

Just had a 5 minute spell where for a change, the sun came out ... Lovely warm glow coming through the window. That's been a bit lacking lately because Britain has gone back to traditional wet and grim, with more to come over the next couple of days as some really cold stuff comes in from Eastern Europe.

The clouds have come back over now but that 5 minutes of sunshine (and warm toes) is just one example of beauty that should be treasured. There's a little bit of beauty in everything although sometimes you need to go looking for it. There's different kinds of beauty too, I'm very curious to take a peek at finding out just how many different words for beauty there are in English, although I get the feeling I may need to look into a more sensual language than the workmanlike English :-)

So many different types of beauty, but not just on the surface. Some people's beauty isn't in what they look like, it's in how they act, what they do and how they interact with others. For music it can be in the perfection of John Williams music, the emotion in Amy Lee's voice (My Immortal just came over Party Shuffle!) or how it all comes together for Tori Amos. (Link to Youtube vid there for I Can't See New York)

One reason why I keep bouncing back into WoWarcraft is the people, although that's really just one special person at the moment. I first encountered Sandra while I was playing a character called Iceangel and it quickly became apparent that maybe the other person should have had the "Angel" in their name :-). I've never actually met Sandra but on much chatting over WoW and MSN, there's a quality of spirit there that is guaranteed to get me following along wherever she leads. And that's happened a few times too ... A call of "Ice - we need you for an instance ?" would be followed by Me - "where to ?" as I chuck out the plans I previously had in order to be in the presence of this angel, even if just virtually.

We have a few people like that at work too, although their beauty lies in other facets. There is the person who's compassion allows her to be someone who anyone on the team can talk to about anything. And although busy herself, she will always be able to make the time to help someone through what they need to talk through. We have the dazzlingly cute (ouch!) one who has the brains, energy and persistence to match. As well as lots of patience to deal with daft questions that would drive me insane.

There's the two people who I'm sure have been dance trained at some point in their lives, as they move with such smoothness and balance that every movement flows into the next. Even when they're stopped, their poise is such that when they start to move again, it looks like a natural continuation. Compared to them, everyone else looks gawky and awkward. I've not spotted one of these two people for a while now, she worked in the building that we moved away from. Oh - the one we still have with us has the "Sandra-touch" that means she'll never be short a volunteer if she needs help with something.

A smile helps an awful lot too. One thing I dislike about the supermodels on their catwalks is how they walk up and down with expressions of utter disdain. No smiling allowed and definitely no concessions to what they view as Mere Mortals. Yep - that's one thing I dislike about the supermodels, as well as my instinct to shout "Eat Something!" at them when their skeletal frames come into view. That's not really their fault though, as they will have been trained to be clothes horses for the designers instead of stunning creatures in their own right. However, their image does an immense amount of psychological damage to the ladies who think they need to emulate them. There is such a thing as "too perfect".

We have a few people around who will share a big grin in passing. It doesn't take much, just a couple of muscles and it's making use of a mouth that probably wasn't usually doing anything anyway :-) But that big grin shared will usually cheer up both people.

Smile wherever you can, it'll make the day brighter and your worries easier.

There's quite a few more people who have their own unique touch of beauty. One of our people might be slightly bigger than she'd probably like to be but the way she dresses, that doesn't matter. Unlike one of our younger people, who was a big girl wearing little girl outfits, the style this person favours makes her look amazing. It also helps that she has a huge sense of Fun that follows her around.

I think that's another aspect of beauty - how comfortable people are with themselves. If they're happy with how they are, then that helps them relax which brings out the confidence. And with confidence, their inner beauty shows itself. Confidence also comes with the inner fire that people have. I know one person who when she does leave us (may that be very many years from now!), there will be a bunch of Klingons gathering around to scream a warning to the creatures in the Afterlife that a Klingon is coming to get them.

Hmm. I've missed a few people out which will probably save me a couple of thumps :-) Nothing here about Miss L, who helped me through an extremely rough patch after my last relationship broke up simply by being the confident athlete that she is. (No - I didn't get anywhere there ! but her inner confidence gave me a benchmark that let me reset how I was feeling showing me the way to get back on my feet) I still get a wave and a smile from Miss L when we spot each other.

Also nothing (so far :-) about the person who's face is responsible for me not getting as much sleep as I might be getting at the moment. I'll be nodding off and all unbidden, her face will pop up in my mind and I'll wake up again. That's one of the perils of a semi-photographic memory.

Oh - in case people were wondering, I don't look at pretty girls all day when I'm at work. I'd be fired ! Literally. We have quite a few rules about Equality & Diversity where I work, so wolfwhistling the natives would be a quick way to be removed from the location where all the pretty girls are. Similarly, watching the girls instead of the screen would get me in trouble due to there not being enough work done. So there's a line between being professional and being interested in what's happening around me. I like to think I stay on the politically correct side of that line, although I may struggle to resist having a bit of fun with it occasionally. But what I always try to remember is that fun should be amusing to both people, what's hysterical to one person can be deeply hurtful to another.

Ahhh ! Sun's come out again :-) Time to get my toes in a position where they can soak up some of those golden rays. There's currently another example of Beauty coming over iTunes, where I have All About Eve's Scarlet and Other Stories album playing through. But to close, I have a few quotes from Robert Heinlein's Time Enough For Love which illustrates more opinions on Beauty :

"A man does not insist on physical beauty in a woman who builds up his morale. After a while, he realises that she is beautiful, he just hadn't noticed it at first."
"I came, I saw, she conquered (The original Latin seems to have been garbled)"
"What a wonderful world it is that has girls in it !"

Everyone has their own beauty, although some of the thugs in this world try to convince us otherwise. Always remember, there is something that makes you special. Whether it's the keen intellect hiding behind a shy exterior, a healthy dose of compassion and empathy or an inner fire that would melt the heart of any unsuspecting person.

And to really close, here's another Heinlein quote I've used before : "Writing is not necessarily something to be ashamed of - but do it in private and wash your hands afterwards." Which will tell you what I'm about to do :-)