God
sees the minds of all men bared of the material vesture and rind and
impurities. For with His intellectual part alone He touches the intelligence
only which has flowed and been derived from Himself into these bodies.
And
if you also use yourself to do this, you will rid yourself of your many
troubles. For he who regards not the poor flesh that envelops him, surely will
not trouble himself by looking after raiment and dwelling and fame and such
like externals and show.
—Marcus
Aurelius, Meditations, Book 12.2 (tr
Long)
Philosophers
do like their profound discussions about the distinction between soul and body,
the differences between mind and matter, and I will be the first geek to be
enthralled by such an inquiry. After all, it asks nothing less than what we are
made of, and how we are put together.
At the
same time, I am always wary of being too concerned with dividing our existence,
at the expense of appreciating its unity. The Stoics generally avoided the
temptations of dualism, of making two worlds out of one, and so often spoke of
all existence as different expressions of the very same matter.
My mind
is not over here, and my body is not over there, two separate things barely
touching, or perhaps even in conflict with one another.
All
things share in one existence, and all things proceed from one act of being.
Yet the mind behaves very differently than the body, and in its actions rises
above the limitations of any unknowing matter.
In being
self-aware, it is not merely moved, but moves itself. Mind embodies being more
perfectly, precisely because it embraces meaning and purpose; that which is
lesser is informed by the awareness within that which is greater.
While
necessarily joined and intermingled together, mind and body reveal the
different degrees with which Nature expresses herself. I can only make sense of
the latter through the direction of the former.
All
subtle metaphysics aside, what does this mean when I look at myself? It is the conscious
mind within me that is the center of my humanity, that around which all my
other layers of flesh and blood, of passions and possessions, of power and
fame, must revolve.
What is
most dignified about me? It is that which most fully reflects the Divine within
me, the power of reason and will.
Once I grasp
this, I will not care so much for how handsome I look, or how strong and
healthy my body is, or how many pretty things I can own, or how many other
people I can impress with all these flashy appearances. My worth will be in my
character, not in the accessories I attach to myself.
There I
can discover what is truly beautiful about a person, that depth of wisdom and
virtue, the willingness to face all things with understanding and love.
Whatever state my body may be in, it must be subject to my soul.
Am I
really looking for the true, the good, and the beautiful in myself, and in
others? It will be found deep down inside, where the soul touches God. There I
will learn to love myself, and to love my neighbor, looking beyond what only
gratifies my gut.
Written in 7/2009
In a world where our first impressions of people are made through appearance, judgment is made even before a single word can be uttered. We live in a society that defines beauty on a physical scale, the color of one's eyes, the shape of one's waist, and the symmetry in one's face, that people's focus has been diverted to what can be seen rather than what can not. However, it is the latter that should define us and define the beauty we see in others. The importance lies in that which governs the flesh, the part that connects us to God and how God views us through. We must search for that which is within and reasons and dictates the decisions we follow through and live by.
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