The job enquiry on that day in which skin colour became an essential factor for the job qualification made me
think about how enigmatic the paradigm of human's mind-set is about
appearances; how we build walls and alienate ourselves from one another for
something God-given. Yet, we highly praise diverse colours in nature, write
poems or paint to show the beauty of a rainbow or spring blossoms. Never would
a gardener grow a garden entirely of one-colour flowers.
Eckhart Tolle, in his book “A New Earth,
Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose”; wrote about why humans are fascinated by the
beauty of nature. He talks of 114 million years ago when the first
flowering plants appeared on planet, opening up to receive the rays of the sun.
According to him “seeing beauty in a flower could awaken humans, however
briefly, to the beauty that is an essential part of their own innermost being,
their true nature.” In Japan, for instance, people love the ethereal beauty of
cherry blossom or the majesty of divinely symmetrical Mount Fuji. Year upon
year, in spring, they make sure not to miss out on viewing the cherry blossoms.
Every time, the way they admire its beauty, it is as if they have seen it for
the first time. Is this affinity merely to be expressed in the physical
existence of those physical attributes in nature solely? Tolle believes, “once
there is a certain degree of Presence, of still and alert attention in human
beings’ perceptions, they can sense the divine life essence, the one indwelling
consciousness or spirit in every creature, every life-form, recognize it as one
with their own essence and so love it as themselves.”
How on earth, or at what point in history
did we go wrong, ignoring our true spirit and befalling into this abysmal
confusion, looking at our physical appearance so competitively? Under the
misconception that words considered derogatory lie at the root of the problem,
we try euphemism to cover up the ugliness. Among many, one is “people of
colour”, truly defined as “any person who is not white”. Now, wait a minute! Is
white not a colour? What is so special about white that is distinct from other
colours? Why should skin colour matter so much to humans?
I really like this post.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that flowers started blooming in all their colours millions of years before humans arrived on the scene who could appreciate that beauty. It's as if they were waiting to be appreciated.
The same is with people. We are beautiful in our diversity, but we are waiting to be appreciated for it.