IT must have been during my freshman
or sophomore high
school year when we had a new, bubbly teacher in English Literature
who asked us to study a poem entitled, The Rhodora, by Ralph Waldo
Emerson.
I, at first, like all the other boys in class, was
hesitant to do the assignment because of the prevailing prejudice that
subjects like Literature were more for girls than for boys.
But I did it just the same, draggingly, of course, but
more to avoid trouble, since I was quite sure I would be asked to say
something about it in class. Little did I know that I would fall in
love with the poem. In fact, it was the first time I felt something
special toward literature.
I was fascinated by its musical and lyrical tone,
bewitched by its cadence and rhythm. More importantly, it delivered a
strong message so appealing to both my mind and heart. It has since
then become indelible in my memory.
It was a message that I did not expect after reading the
first few verses that described what I thought were merely ordinary
observations. I was told beforehand that the Rhodora was actually just
a plant, an information that worsened my misgiving about the class
assignment.
But now I realize that the element of surprise is part of
the beauty of any literary piece. That was what happened to me. I was
pleasantly surprised, and then somehow affected...quite deeply. The
misgiving turned into a blessing. My misgiving actually set me up for
a big kill in myself.
The verse that attracted me most was this: “Rhodora! / If
the sages ask thee why / This charm is wasted on the earth and sky, /
Tell them, dear, / That if eyes were made for seeing, / Then beauty is
its own excuse for Being.”
In my adolescent mind then, I readily agreed to that
statement. Beauty was a very precious and rare commodity. And I
understood beauty as an exclusively physical affair. It was hard for
me then to see beauty around. Back in the province, there must have
been some pretty faces, but not one that sparked awe and fascination.
And so, I thought beauty could only be found in the
movies, in the magazines, and in those occasional visits of movie
stars and starlets during town fiestas. “If eyes were made for
seeing...” kept ringing in my mind.
Years passed, and the scenario has altered quite
significantly. This time, you see beauty in the physical sense in
abundance. A worldwide industry of make-up and make-overs, plus the
increasingly powerful supporting structure of networks, etc., has made
that possible. But I also realize that these have somehow exposed the
false character of beauty in the physical sense.
Beauty and human perfection cannot be confined in the
physical alone. There is a lot of fiction, deception, and fantasy
involved there. Neither can beauty be a matter of feeling good, or of
being popular, etc. These ideas of beauty cannot satisfy the deepest
longings of our soul.
Beauty has to be found in something more profound. It
cannot be skin-deep alone. It has to correspond to a more complete set
of criteria based on our true and ultimate dignity as persons and as
children of God, created in the image and likeness of God. It has to
satisfy our deepest expectations that definitely go beyond the
material and the natural.
These days, we have to be wary of a thick, dominant
culture that considers beauty almost exclusively in the physical sense
only. We have to feel the need to transform that culture slowly but
steadily. It’s an urgent task that has to be done if we want to avert
a disaster much worse than a Yolanda or a magnitude-7 earthquake.
We have to recover the original and authentic nature of
beauty, one that is organically linked to God and his commandments,
and that goes far beyond satisfying merely material and natural
categories.
We have to present in convincing terms, arguments and
actuations that beauty should not be allowed to be hijacked by
physical and natural criteria. It has to be understood as living out,
for example, the beatitudes as articulated by Christ.
That’s where beauty really lies. It’s achieved when we
learn to love as Christ loves us, which means, loving even our
enemies. That’s because that’s where our perfection is achieved.
For sure, this ideal of beauty is at the moment considered
to be like a Rhodora, precious, rare, hidden. But it should be common
in the future and in eternity.
school year when we had a new, bubbly teacher in English Literature
who asked us to study a poem entitled, The Rhodora, by Ralph Waldo
Emerson.
I, at first, like all the other boys in class, was
hesitant to do the assignment because of the prevailing prejudice that
subjects like Literature were more for girls than for boys.
But I did it just the same, draggingly, of course, but
more to avoid trouble, since I was quite sure I would be asked to say
something about it in class. Little did I know that I would fall in
love with the poem. In fact, it was the first time I felt something
special toward literature.
I was fascinated by its musical and lyrical tone,
bewitched by its cadence and rhythm. More importantly, it delivered a
strong message so appealing to both my mind and heart. It has since
then become indelible in my memory.
It was a message that I did not expect after reading the
first few verses that described what I thought were merely ordinary
observations. I was told beforehand that the Rhodora was actually just
a plant, an information that worsened my misgiving about the class
assignment.
But now I realize that the element of surprise is part of
the beauty of any literary piece. That was what happened to me. I was
pleasantly surprised, and then somehow affected...quite deeply. The
misgiving turned into a blessing. My misgiving actually set me up for
a big kill in myself.
The verse that attracted me most was this: “Rhodora! / If
the sages ask thee why / This charm is wasted on the earth and sky, /
Tell them, dear, / That if eyes were made for seeing, / Then beauty is
its own excuse for Being.”
In my adolescent mind then, I readily agreed to that
statement. Beauty was a very precious and rare commodity. And I
understood beauty as an exclusively physical affair. It was hard for
me then to see beauty around. Back in the province, there must have
been some pretty faces, but not one that sparked awe and fascination.
And so, I thought beauty could only be found in the
movies, in the magazines, and in those occasional visits of movie
stars and starlets during town fiestas. “If eyes were made for
seeing...” kept ringing in my mind.
Years passed, and the scenario has altered quite
significantly. This time, you see beauty in the physical sense in
abundance. A worldwide industry of make-up and make-overs, plus the
increasingly powerful supporting structure of networks, etc., has made
that possible. But I also realize that these have somehow exposed the
false character of beauty in the physical sense.
Beauty and human perfection cannot be confined in the
physical alone. There is a lot of fiction, deception, and fantasy
involved there. Neither can beauty be a matter of feeling good, or of
being popular, etc. These ideas of beauty cannot satisfy the deepest
longings of our soul.
Beauty has to be found in something more profound. It
cannot be skin-deep alone. It has to correspond to a more complete set
of criteria based on our true and ultimate dignity as persons and as
children of God, created in the image and likeness of God. It has to
satisfy our deepest expectations that definitely go beyond the
material and the natural.
These days, we have to be wary of a thick, dominant
culture that considers beauty almost exclusively in the physical sense
only. We have to feel the need to transform that culture slowly but
steadily. It’s an urgent task that has to be done if we want to avert
a disaster much worse than a Yolanda or a magnitude-7 earthquake.
We have to recover the original and authentic nature of
beauty, one that is organically linked to God and his commandments,
and that goes far beyond satisfying merely material and natural
categories.
We have to present in convincing terms, arguments and
actuations that beauty should not be allowed to be hijacked by
physical and natural criteria. It has to be understood as living out,
for example, the beatitudes as articulated by Christ.
That’s where beauty really lies. It’s achieved when we
learn to love as Christ loves us, which means, loving even our
enemies. That’s because that’s where our perfection is achieved.
For sure, this ideal of beauty is at the moment considered
to be like a Rhodora, precious, rare, hidden. But it should be common
in the future and in eternity.
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