Excuse me?!

The world, as we know it, is a beautiful place with beautiful places; the New Forest, Bali, Niagara Falls. It's full of unexplained occurrences and in a atmosphere that stretches to lengths unknown. And you'll find people; helpful, caring, generous. On some days of, particularly, high spirits, it is hard to fault our earth.

That is, until we become aware of awards like this:

The World's Ugliest Woman. What kind of disgusting world is this?!

When I saw this video posted on Facebook about Lizzie Valesquez, I was absolutely shocked. For one, she's most definitely not even ugly!

But immediately, after I'd thought that, I stepped back. 

Woah! Woah! Woah!

Why did I have a right to decide if anyone was ugly? If I was saying that Lizzie, I must have a concept of ugly and beautiful. There must be a pattern in my mind; a template or checklist, that needs to be fulfilled. Why was I even thinking like this? How could I, even if I didn't voice my opinions, have this schematic selection of a person based on looks. 

And, I guess, for all of us, it's the same. 

One of the things I like about the world is that (I believe) everyone has a soulmate. Someone who we're searching for. No one doesn't have one. If you never get married but you do want to, that's not a sign that you're not loved. It's just that you haven't been in the right place, at the right time. And so, when we find our soulmates, we realise that everyone has different perceptions of beautiful. 

I'm not going to be the only one to say (and I know this sounds awfully crude and horrible) that I've sometimes passed couples and thought;

He/ she's going out with them? 

And then I've quickly reverted back to my philosophy; everyone has different concepts of beautiful. 

And it's horrible! It's horrible that I can't help myself thinking these thoughts! But, with the reinforcement of the mantra; 'beauty is only skin deep', hopefully there will be a time where none of that superficial judgement will reside within me. 

It is for this reason, that I have a big aversion to beauty contests. I'll glance at the picture but will look no further into it. 

Miss Universe - how condescending! The woman who wins this title is meant to be the most beautiful lady in the whole world!! But, first of all, not everyone is going to find her attractive! It's just an affirmation of the image of the body that judges on the panel think we should all be aiming for. Thigh gaps, wavy brunette hair, pearly ocean white teeth. 

But what's even more aggravating is that the most beautiful woman in the world (if there is such a thing) may not have even entered the competition! She might be at home, with children to look after, a job, a voluntary placement. Maybe she doesn't have time to enter. And so, for all the money and publicity spent on the event, the winner might not even be the winner. 

Beauty is such a problem in the world! I often like to think, if we were given a separate sense that would aid our navigation - like super sensitive noses and hands that translated our designs into buildings - the world would be better off blind. 

For all the stick and horrible torture that Lizzie suffered from cyber bullies who put her name and face to the world's ugliest caption, she has come out strong. She has been able to reach out to people and educate them about beauty. She is a true inspiration to all.

I've just attached this video below if you're interested in finding out more about Lizzie. This is the video that I watched when I first heard about Lizzie.

Please enjoy and take on the words of wisdom that she has to offer :D 

Isaac, the brave

When you think about it; your life is all you'll ever know. You only know what you see, what you feel. Empathy doesn't exactly work in this world. You might think what emotions you have felt are comparable to others but you'll never know. You'll think the pain that you've felt is the hardest that ever existed and you'd think you're right because you'll never actually know. A broken leg may well be more painful than 3 fractured ribs injured in different circumstances, but you'll never know.  So you might as well be right. 

In a sense, I've always thought, it gives you a feeling of empowerment. You feel like you're (for want of a better word) the 'chosen one'. The human who was meant to feel explicit emotions. And because you only know you, you feel like you have to do something. Be someone. Change the world. And moreover, you may feel as though you have the power to carry it through. 

Forgive me if I'm confusing you, this has always been a hard concept to explain. 

There was a little boy who was the son of a couple who attended the church that I began to at University. The boy was Isaac and he was about 2 years old but he'd spent much of his life fighting chest infections amongst other illnesses I was too new to know about. 

My last service in the church was on the 2nd Sunday of Advent and his mother attended. The priest called her to the front half way through the service and we did a communal prayer. For her son. It was incredibly spiritual - everyone holding out their hands to this mother, assenting at particular parts of the prayer. And when it was over the room was flushed with tears. 

Holding out my hand to her, I felt like I could change her son's life. This force, power and compassion was channelled through my hands. I had the feeling of empowerment. The belief that I was the chosen one. That I had the power to make things right. 

And so, when I received an email entitled 'Isaac', it was with regret that I opened it. All other updates of his progress had been; Isaac - a bad evening. Or Isaac - in Paediatrics Intensive Care. But I knew what a heading like Isaac meant. 

Indeed he had passed away. The power I had felt in praying for his mother seemed futile. Hopefully it had helped but it hadn't saved him. Like I thought it could have. 

The world is a bizarre place. You are led to feel emotions that don't materialise. Who knows what powers each individual has. Who knows how different we are from who we think we are. 

For Isaac, nothing more can be done. Nothing but prayer. Please pray for his family; his parents, those who knew him, those who loved him. And him; Isaac - a brave young boy with the most gorgeous smile, a loving family and life cut too short.