In Leonardo DaVinci’s famous painting of The Last Supper; which consists of Jesus and the twelve disciples, it is reported that he based the likeness of the faces of people he saw around. People at the time were wandering about their own lives. He was looking for specific features that fit each of the disciples and Jesus. It would certainly make him a perfectionist because the painting took him three years to complete. He used real people who caught his attention and had something striking enough in their eyes to be modeled after an apostle. There’s a false story that the person who posed for the face of Jesus was found a while after and was used for the face of Judas. No credible or historical evidence to back up this claim. It is still intriguing enough to point us to the duality of man.
Like Black and White, yin and yang, up and down, we are very familiar with contrasting ideas. It is no surprise that this very same idea is present in us. It is usually a shock to us when we find out that famous or powerful people are not as perfect. Better yet, people we talk to regularly. Family, friends, and acquaintances. Good people are good by definition because they have the choice to do evil but actively choose not to. Sometimes we fall into bad choices, other times we rise to make good ones. There’s always a choice with every decision we make. Like two big buttons ever present before us. The striking opposition is just always amazing to see.
One of the most infamous tyrants that walked the surface of the earth was Adolf Hitler. Killing over six million Jews because he deemed them an existential threat to the Aryan race. He had concentration camps all over Germany that did horrific things to the Jews they deemed impure. Yet, he had a companion. Eva Braun, with whom he had a relationship for nearly 14 years. He only officially married her about forty hours before he knew that he had lost the war; they committed suicide. What did this woman see in him that she thought it a good idea to spend the rest of her life with him? Did Hitler actually have a soft side? Was she attracted to the power and charisma? Or was she just in too deep? This was a man who wanted to wipe out an entire race on the basis that he perceived them as a threat to the purebred Germans. Not that they even did anything, he just wasn’t going to have them around. By all means, this was a man to be isolated and reoriented. There he was, with a woman who found him worthy of love to dedicate fourteen years of her life to him, to only be married for less than two days till death by their own hands did them part.
There’s the other end of the spectrum of people who seemed to be saints but also had severe shortcomings. Not that they didn’t do wonderful feats, but they swayed to the other side. Saint Mother Theresa, who was widely recognized for bringing help to a suffering humanity. Won a Nobel Peace Prize for her selfless works. Has been critiqued for being a con woman and operating clinics with standards as low as concentration camps, lacking standard medical care especially since funding came from private donations and government sponsors. It did not seem that the amount of funds going in equated to the quality of clinics being built. Dr Seuss, who was a beloved children’s author and animator. Responsible for bringing joy to millions of kids around the world, he held that gift of joy from his first wife by cheating on her. Sadly never any children of his own. He also exhibited racist tendencies in some of his earlier works. Helped children all over the world to read more easily and enjoy, yet the one person he should have brought the most peace to, he did the opposite.
Think not that you are better than any one of these people. Quite frankly, some might have done worse if they were in their shoes. That doesn’t excuse them from the weight of their actions, but it definitely doesn’t make you any better than they were.
Like the Beauty and the Beast story, there’s always a dance of choices going on inside of us. Some are harder than others. I believe the choices we make that matter the most are the ones when no one is looking. They reveal who we truly are, what we value, and how much good we are willing to do for our fellow neighbors.
In the book of Matthew, one of Jesus’ teachings is to love your enemies. To do good to those who despitefully use you. To bless those who curse you and even pray for them.
It is easy to be good to those we love, even though we fault in most time. But imagine how much better the world would be if we all did good to every single regardless of where they came from, what they did to you, or if you knew the person. It would be a sight to see.
What a wonderful world to live in that would be. Only if we had the strength to do it.
And the question to ponder on is this. Who is a good person and do you think you qualify to be one?
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1 thought on “Beauty and the Beast”
Very interesting read. It brings a serious reflection and poses a charge for us as humans to do better and be good even though we have a choice to not be. Thank you so much Doc.