{"id":2971,"date":"2019-06-30T17:34:11","date_gmt":"2019-06-30T17:34:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nevilleronan.com\/blog\/?p=2971"},"modified":"2019-07-21T17:36:29","modified_gmt":"2019-07-21T17:36:29","slug":"the-beholder-filter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/nevilleronan.com\/blog\/2019\/06\/30\/the-beholder-filter\/","title":{"rendered":"The beholder filter"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I went on a wander yesterday morning with a couple of\nfriends. We wandered in amongst the tress of a shady garden, fighting off\nmosquitos but finding such beauties as I have attached in this email. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The spectacular coloring of the Peacock and the vivid magnificence\nof the Parrot ( who incidentally, greeted us with a wonderful \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c5\u201cHello there\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c2\u009d)\nwere easy to take away as evidence of their beauty. The giant grasshopper that\nblocked our narrow path presented his structural beauty against the soft\ngreenery around him. But as I stood and chatted with this wonderful pig and\nadmired his beauty, I began to think about the whole concept of beauty \nand how it shapes our interaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The phrase \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c5\u201cBeauty is in the eye of the beholder\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c2\u009d first\nappeared in Greek literature in the 3rd<\/sup> Century BC and yet while it\nis therefore not a new concept, many of us still strive to create absolute\ndefinitions rather than admit its subjectiveness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I crouched down before the pig and he came over to say hi.\nHe was full of chat and curiosity and we had a wonderful exchange, There was\nlittle doubt in my mind, as I stood up to walk away that this was indeed a\nbeautiful creature.  He may not have been adorned with red or blue\nfeathers, but his character shone right through his ruffled exterior and melted\nmy heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those we define as beautiful are generally given special\ntreatment in our lives; beautiful people tend to get paid more, succeed more in\nbusiness, and even their opinions are more listened to. Those we regard as ugly\nare generally derided, treated poorly, and are assigned little or no value. In\nthe natural world, \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c5\u201cugliness\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c2\u009d is often even more costly as creatures are killed\njust because we look at them with disdain or disgust. Cockroaches make most of\nus recoil and we feel justified in spraying them with toxic chemicals or just\nstomping on them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it beggars the question; when they look at us, do they\nsee a beautiful creature? And do they validate their own ugliness? Unlikely \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c2\u00a6<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I remember a wonderful movie from the 80\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s with John Hurt as\nthe lead character. It is called The Elephant Man. It was based on the true\nlife of Joseph Merrick, a severely deformed man from the late 1800\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s in London.\nIf you haven\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u201e\u00a2t seen it, do! It creates a stunning reflection of man\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s\ninhumanity to man. It has the one line from a movie that I will always\nremember\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c2\u00a6 as he gets cornered by an angry mob, bent on hurting him because of\nhis deformities. His \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c5\u201cI am not an animal. I am a human being\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c2\u009d gives pause to\nthe angry crowd and should also give us pause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All creatures (human or not) have a right to life and\nwhenever we take away that right, we should do so for a stronger reason than\nsomething just not satisfying our own definition of beauty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So next time you witness an insult of being called a\ndisgusting pig, understand that this is more a reflection of the person saying\nit than for whom it is aimed at. Pigs are truly wonderful creatures\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c2\u00a6\nintelligent, social, and beautiful. If a Munro-detractor called you a\ndisgusting Marylin, would you be overly insulted?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I love the natural world we live in and find beauty\neverywhere. By widening my \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c5\u201cbeholder\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c2\u009d filter, I welcome more beauty into my\nlife. Try it \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c2\u00a6 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hope you have a beautiful week!<\/p>\n\n\n\n