Deceiving Appearances?

You know what they say-- Appearances can be deceiving! But that's not really true. Appearances are what they are, and nothing more. Deception comes in when we attach our concepts onto something that appears. We look at something, we judge it as ugly, repulsive, beautiful, or whatever, and then we think we have to change it so that we can tell our stories of attractiveness.

Never judge a book by its cover, but don't we do that anyway? Maybe that's our job. It could be that we're supposed to be judges of appearance. But can we use our judgments so that they reflect a more balanced approach to things?

If we deem something repulsive, we will want to run away. But what's making us run-- the thing itself or our thinking, judging, and conceptualizing.

After you've determined that something is ugly and repulsive, ask yourself if it's really true. I know-- you've listened to all of the experts and seen all of the gorgeous models on the runway. But have you asked yourself? Have you looked into the deep recesses of your heart? It could be that you are the expert you need to talk to.

Question your stories. Don't try to block them or change them. Question them. Ask yourself if they're really true. You may find they're not true at all, and you stand the chance of losing them. Are you brave enought to have less and less of your stories?