Skip to main content

Advertisement

Advertisement

Appreciate different layers of beauty

I refer to the letter “Look beyond appearances, appreciate people’s inner beauty (Oct 14). There are three layers of beauty.

I refer to the letter “Look beyond appearances, appreciate people’s inner beauty (Oct 14). There are three layers of beauty.

The beauty that attracts immediately is physical beauty. Though skin-deep, it is indispensable to many jobs. Many people spend tons of money and hours of effort to acquire it. Unfortunately, it is the most fleeting of the three.

A beautiful artwork is beautiful forever. But physical beauty may evaporate in an accident or bout of sickness. Its unavoidable enemy is time, a merciless terminator. A love of anyone only for this beauty is an infatuation, which is also fleeting.

The second is personality. A beautiful person may have a repulsive personality. One is first attracted to him or her and sooner or later repelled.

There are also people so pleasant to be with that one hardly notices that they are physically not too attractive. An unpleasant personality can be changed with determination, if one is humble enough to listen to criticism.

The third is the innermost beauty. It is what a person is intrinsically. It rarely transforms. A beautiful, pleasant person may be selfish and unprincipled. He or she is like a tiger: Gorgeous but to be admired at a distance. He or she is lovable but not loving.

On the other hand, an ugly, hot-tempered person may be a man or woman of integrity. He or she may not be liked but can be trusted, and may not be lovable but is loving. A loving and lovable person is a rare gem.

I like the Chinese proverb, “As a long road tests the strength of a horse, so time reveals a person’s heart”. We should be friendly to all but can be friends with only some. What about people who do not even have inner beauty?

Read more of the latest in

Advertisement

Advertisement

Stay in the know. Anytime. Anywhere.

Subscribe to get daily news updates, insights and must reads delivered straight to your inbox.

By clicking subscribe, I agree for my personal data to be used to send me TODAY newsletters, promotional offers and for research and analysis.