4 ms·

One person's vanity is another's identity. Dressing up like Bronie can be just a fulfilling as singing a hymn. If you want everyone to stand tall with you, try

One person's vanity is another's identity. Dressing up like Bronie can be just a fulfilling as singing a hymn. If you want everyone to stand tall with you, try meeting them where they are instead of pushing your world view as supreme.

sdegutis 7y ago
Our outward appearance can and do represent what values we identify with. But saying "I'm worthy because I am beautiful" is shallow, which is just another way of saying empty, vain, and without substance. Besides, why would someone want their worth to come from beauty, which is so fleeting? True and lasting beauty is in virtue, even non-religious people admire the sacrifices of soldiers for the sake of freedom, or the sacrifices of Gandhi for peace. These are truly beautiful. Physical beauty is empty and devoid of merit. But like anything else we have, our physical height, our intelligence, our gift for music, our gift for software, it can be put to good use in the selfless service of others, at which point it becomes truly beautiful.
- xelxebar 7y ago
  > Physical beauty is empty and devoid of merit. I get where you're coming from, as my personal values have this element in them as well. I'm probably heavily influenced by my Protestant upbringing, which also gives me the moral that "laying moral judgement on others is a vanity." That said, it's also interesting to look at moral themes and personal values through the lens of cultural evolution. For the vast majority of history, it's pretty much been a hard fact that one's physical appearance breaks down with age (Keanu Reaves being some Magickal exception). Therefore the "beauty is empty" moral might be seen as a distilled admonition against relying too heavily on physical appearance, since that could cause some hardship later on. Anyway, thank you for sharing. I appreciate finding other people that pursue True Beauty, whatever that may mean. The quest itself is a thing of beauty. lol
  - sdegutis 7y ago
    > laying moral judgement on others is a vanity To help form our morals, we have to judge everything. This is an integral part of turning life experience into wisdom. But this isn't the same as judging people. I cannot know what's inside the mind and heart of my neighbor, even if he does something extremely evil. So I cannot condemn him for doing evil. I can condemn the evil itself, but I cannot condemn him, which is just another way of saying that he is not salvageable. Because people can change. I recognized this even before I was a Christian. That's also why it says of Jesus: "he will not quench a smoldering wick."

sdegutis 7y ago

Our outward appearance can and do represent what values we identify with. But saying "I'm worthy because I am beautiful" is shallow, which is just another way of saying empty, vain, and without substance. Besides, why would someone want their worth to come from beauty, which is so fleeting? True and lasting beauty is in virtue, even non-religious people admire the sacrifices of soldiers for the sake of freedom, or the sacrifices of Gandhi for peace. These are truly beautiful. Physical beauty is empty and devoid of merit. But like anything else we have, our physical height, our intelligence, our gift for music, our gift for software, it can be put to good use in the selfless service of others, at which point it becomes truly beautiful.

xelxebar 7y ago
> Physical beauty is empty and devoid of merit. I get where you're coming from, as my personal values have this element in them as well. I'm probably heavily influenced by my Protestant upbringing, which also gives me the moral that "laying moral judgement on others is a vanity." That said, it's also interesting to look at moral themes and personal values through the lens of cultural evolution. For the vast majority of history, it's pretty much been a hard fact that one's physical appearance breaks down with age (Keanu Reaves being some Magickal exception). Therefore the "beauty is empty" moral might be seen as a distilled admonition against relying too heavily on physical appearance, since that could cause some hardship later on. Anyway, thank you for sharing. I appreciate finding other people that pursue True Beauty, whatever that may mean. The quest itself is a thing of beauty. lol
- sdegutis 7y ago
  > laying moral judgement on others is a vanity To help form our morals, we have to judge everything. This is an integral part of turning life experience into wisdom. But this isn't the same as judging people. I cannot know what's inside the mind and heart of my neighbor, even if he does something extremely evil. So I cannot condemn him for doing evil. I can condemn the evil itself, but I cannot condemn him, which is just another way of saying that he is not salvageable. Because people can change. I recognized this even before I was a Christian. That's also why it says of Jesus: "he will not quench a smoldering wick."