I am not a shallow person. I do not, for example, support the notion that you have to be thin to be beautiful, and I would never be so stupid as to fork out R500 for a golf tee, just because there’s a crocodile on the label.
But I do find great joy in things being beautiful, and it makes me sad when people seem to show no interest in making things beautiful.
Yes, absolutely everyone has a favourite book, film, song, meal or place. I doubt whether there is a single person on Earth who is incapable of appreciating something truly breathtaking. However, much as beauty moves us, so many of us seem to choose pure, mundane functionality over beauty on a daily basis. After all, we’re busy people. And if we’re not busy, we’re tired. So why waste time on making an outfit, an interior or an event special, when it will do as is?
Because you can, that’s why. And if you have the choice to do something beautifully, why wouldn't you? If you have the ability to make something extraordinary, why would you settle for it being ordinary? Why just enjoy beauty, or save it for special occasions, when you can create it every day?
Think about it: we can’t all be artists in the traditional sense. I can’t draw or make music, or dance very well (Come to think of it, neither can a lot of people who are considered artists nowadays). But I can live in beauty. I can immerse myself in it body, heart and soul.
It’s so simple, really. It’s picking out the right earrings to go with your dress. It’s lighting a few candles for a lovely, quiet evening at home. It’s topping off your meal with a little garnish. It’s taking 5 minutes out of your time to put away those cardboard boxes that have been crowding your living room ever since you moved in (Yes Harri and Joe, this is in reference to you, insert smiley winky face here).
It’s adding just a little bit of flair to everything you touch.
The greatest thing about being a creator of beauty, is that you need very little to work with. It’s not about going to the mall and buying something nicer. It’s taking something you already have and turning it into something gorgeous. Trust me, if you’re willing to spend a little more time, you can throw a very special dinner party with nothing but paper plates, Styrofoam cups and those chequered paper napkins everyone seems to love so much.
And when you do go to the mall again, perhaps have a look at some of the other, prettier napkins.
Am I being pretentious? Well, that’s just the way it’s going to have to be, then. I refuse to live in a world where looking my best and good food and gorgeous interiors and candlelight and bubble baths and flowers are all reserved for special occasions.
Life is a special occasion, and it deserves to be lived beautifully.
If you do find yourself being too busy or feeling too tired to bother with something that seems so pointless, try to imagine living in a world without beautiful things. Then you’ll probably agree with The Little Prince that
“It’s useful, because it’s beautiful.”
