be beautiful Sometimes war can seem attractive because peace doesn't seem like an active force. Peace is simply the absence of war, an uneasy quiet. Especially among the young, the urge to throw oneself into action can seem overwhelming, and if other outlets aren't available, war can seem liberating for a time, at least in the first days. Suddenly there is something to do, an overarching goal, and petty differences are cast aside to join with one's brothers in the great game. This is a misunderstanding of the nature of war, and of peace. Both have a fire, but in peacetime the flame is contained, subdued, so that it transforms what it touches without destroying it. In war, this same fire burns out of control. Would you cast your bread into the flames? Another way of saying this is that true peace is not just the absence of war, but an active force in itself. The danger is that when the flame is entirely absent, people will burn anything in order to get heat. Another danger is that a living flame must be tended, so as not to escape its bounds, and not to die out. The human spirit is such a flame. When fed and contained, it will warm the house. If it is not fed, it will escape its container and turn on the world in search of fuel. We must invite young people to practice beauty, to know beauty in all its forms. Beauty is the mean between two extremes: a raging fire, and no flame at all. Beauty is the sacred flame in a lamp that must be tended. It is a statue on the point of coming alive, a geometric pattern that shimmers, music that opens spaces for the imagination. Beauty is a dance with the sacred. Beauty is movement, poise, a flame on a wick. Beauty consumes sweetly so it may create. Beauty is passion and restraint, both at once. Beauty is not "nothing" nor "anything at all" because beauty is exact. Beauty cannot be explained, but it can be tasted, known. Beauty cannot be recognized unless it is received in the same spirit in which it is given. Beauty is the mirror of the soul, the saving grace, but there are those who detest beauty, who see in it a weakness. Perhaps they will try to grasp it, to control and dominate it, but beauty cannot be dominated, cannot be owned. Recognizing this will send such people into a rage, and they will seek to snuff it out. Perhaps they will succeed, but the weakness is in them, not in the thing they have destroyed. In any case, beauty is immortal. Invoke it, and it will appear. Cherish it, and it will remain. Be not jealous of another's beauty, but seek to cultivate it in yourself. Be beautiful. The flame that burns sweetly will destroy all illusions, conquer all vanities, and warm the house of the spirit that is its source.
	location: Fez, Morocco date: February 17, 2005 average rating: [not rated] your rating (0-10):