We are taught to find things beautiful. This is something that has irritated me forever and ever. I’ll give three examples. Cars. They are noisy, polluting, dangerous objects build from ugly metal. They are not beautiful. If you have to look at cars in particular, then yes, a Maltese bus looks better than our mini van… but they are still noisy, polluting, dangerous objects build from ugly metal. They are not beautiful. Dogs. What makes an animal beautiful? Amazing feathers in fantastic colours, grace, elegance, an interesting pattern. If you compare a running dog to a running wolf… that wolf looks beautiful, the dog does not. You can love dogs and they can be your best friends, but most of them really are not beautiful at all. Babies. The most known example of all. The are adorable and make cute sounds and so on, but everyone admits, babies are not beautiful. Because people don’t understand me at all when I try to explain these first two example, I always come back to babies. Our parents, our teachers, our co-workers, our friends. They teach us to find these things beautiful. Everyone loves cars, everyone loves dogs, everyone loves babies. So they are beautiful. Oh I don’t mean to say I don’t want a baby, but I am trying to explain that my precious baby won’t be beautiful. What is beauty then? People answer with innocence. My answer is quite the opposite. Ancient wisdom, that is beauty. What I enjoy most… is the beauty of a silent archeological site. Take Thermessos near Antalya. There is a huge Roman theater cut into the mountain. The mountain air is cold in summer, there is a soft breeze… and a magnificent view. When I stood there, I felt beauty. Thousands of years ago people stood there as I did. Without them I would not even have been there. They invented, created. Beauty does not have to come from innocence. You learn what beauty is. It is only up to us, whom we will let teach.

~Zenobia,
zenobia@theguthan.com