Beauty Beyond Desire

All red-blooded males will know what it's like to lust after an attractive woman that they don't know. It happens to us all the time. Well, at least the temptation does. Of course, you could be one of those Bleeding Pharisees, walking around with your eyes firmly fixed to the ground and your head bouncing off the occasional lamppost. In which case, read no further.

It so happened that an attractive woman sat opposite me on the train today. Freakishly, I found myself in the strange situation of not desiring her!

It's not that she wasn't pretty, she was drop-dead beautiful. So beautiful in fact, that all I could do was admire her face and how wonderfully crafted it was. Her eyes shone like two glimmering obsidian stones, tilted inwards at the slightest of angles. Her hair was thin, but silkily blond. Her skin gave the impression of softness, not from fancy over-applied make-up, but from a natural tanned hue. It seemed that her eyebrows were arched perfectly, in preparation for a million possible expressions. A masterpiece!

Despite all of these endearing qualities, my eyes never left her face and my desire never left my heart. I was stuck in the thought of how beautiful a creation she was. Angelic even. Perhaps it's a similar sensation as holding your baby daughter for the first time.

Leaving the train, I pondered on the uniqueness of the whole experience. Why can't I look at all women this way? In fact, why can't I look at all human beings this way?

You may say that this is all nonsense (especially if you're a bloke). It only takes a flash of a woman's flesh sometimes to trigger the usual transformation. Hormones start racing the Epsom Derby, the 'object vs person' ethic flutters out the window and IQ points begin to drop to prehistoric cave-man levels. Looking at women with such pious purity is surely impossible, and looking at all people as if they are a masterpiece of creation is ridiculous. Right?

I think not. Consider it this way, aren't you looking at certain people with complete purity right now? Close friends who you've known for years perhaps? Your sister? Your mother?

Okay, even if you buy that, how on earth is it possible to look at ugly folks with admiration?

Eye of the beholder my friend. No doubt some other guy will see my angel of the underground and think that she's just some woman with a fat face and thinning hair.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, like the woman on the train, we all have our beautiful side. Parts of us that are so attractive that they could make angels breakdown in tears of admiration. Perhaps you have silky, vibrant hair. Perhaps you have a beautifully crafted nose (without the plastic surgeon's help). Maybe your eyes are pits so deep and dark that someone could get lost in them, never to escape.

Truth is, it doesn't matter who you are or how ugly you think you are, you have been bestowed with loveliness that would take the breath away of any fellow train passenger. Because, let's be honest, there is no Michelangelo painting adorning the walls of the Sistine Chapel that is half as splendid as you are. No invention of Leonardo De Vinci's comes close to outdoing the creativeness that makes up you. In fact, no artist has ever painted, crafted or moulded anything that comes close to your heart-breaking elegance. Even those without the good fortune of having a Teenaged Mutant Ninja Turtle named after them.

So, stop worrying about your bushy eyebrows or your fat backside. You're a bloody jewel!