The 8th deadly sin
Yesterday I watched an episode of the Tyra show on Singapore's channel 5, hosted by the stunningly gorgeous Tyra Banks of ANTM fame. The topic for the show was The Seven Deadly Sins: Greed, Gluttony, Envy, Wrath, Lust, Sloth and Vanity. A poll of the audience found that 70% of them admitted to being guilty of lust! Hmmm...If swooning over Josh Hartnett in a movie or checking out real-life persons (Who Shall Not be Named for purposes of privacy) are acts of lust, I think I am guilty of this sin if not, at least one or more of the other seven!
However, somewhere during the interviews, Tyra casually mentioned that she thought the 8th deadly sin was DENIAL.
Uh-oh, I don't know if I really agree. Because I think that sometimes denial is your brain's natural coping mechanism to preserve your sanity (and if it were a sin, I would be guilty, guilty, guilty!). When there is no obvious answer or solution, and when you don't know what to do with the feeling of overwhelming hopelessness, your brain automatically shuts down some parts of itself so it dosen't go beserk.
In the sweet blissful nirvana of denial, the usually sharp corners of emotions are blunted. Happiness is less vibrant, anticipation less hopeful, hurt less painful, sadness less overwhelming and disappointment less piercing. This ambivalent haze of artificial serenity that exists as a state of limbo, of neither here nor there, of neither feeling nor unfeeling, provides a temporary cocoon of warm protection for the jaded soul. A much-needed shelter from the harsh realities of living.
I do realize though that prolonged denial thought, cannot be a good thing. Because in denial, one goes through the motions of living in a neverending cycle of numbness, of night becoming day and day becoming night. Of seasons coming, passing, changing. And the rare occasion when there is some happy event, there is a jostle, an awakening, and the starved senses are allowed to bask and absorb the lightness of its surroundings to the fullest, and live life as it should be lived. But when that brief moment pasts, as it always inevitably will, there is a retreat into the seductively protective cocoon where, people and events, both happy and sad leave less of a mark than usual and life has less lustre.Maybe what I'm trying to say is I think short-bouts of denial are part and parcel of life. The only thing is figuring out where to draw the line between the long and short of denial. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ps. Denial isn't the only thing I'm guilty of. I'm also oh-so guilty of procrastination! Been meaning to upload my UK trip pictures for ages, but so far have only managed to upload the Paris part of the photos. Check them out here! Also, check out FeR's and Janvier's entries on our Games night! You guys are amazing with all the photos and details! Respect, respect! Let's do it again soon- while i still remember how to use the Cranium timer!!!! Hahaha...
Labels: Opinion, Random Stuff
All things bright and beautiful
“A thing of beauty is a joy forever; its loveliness increases; it will never pass into nothingness."- John Keats
I think Keats was right. Granted, beauty may not be everything in life, but there’s no doubt that being beautiful adds significant value to your life.
Beauty, like money, has the power of transforming an ordinary life into a life less ordinary.
Superficial as it may sound, I think that in nine out of ten situations, being physically beautiful, gender nonwithstanding, is always an advantage on top of intelligence and hard work, don’t you agree?
Then of course, there is the saying that beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. What does that really mean?
The cynic in me thinks that it’s a lousy way of saying, “Sorry, nobody thinks you’re attractive except me, but I’m blind and deaf BTW.”
The eternal optimist in me would like to believe that it means that someone actually sees beyond your exterior, sees you for who you really are, ugly flaws and all and still thinks you’re the magnificent shining sun and that the whole world revolves around you.
Cynic or optimist, take your pick!
The bottomline though is that people enjoy being around objects of beauty. People love beautiful scenery, beautiful buildings, beautiful cars, beautiful music, beautiful food even (think Jap cuisine) and of course beautiful people.
Me? I have a soft spot for beautiful shoes. Ooooooooooh, I could cuddle these solemates of mine to sleep! (I’m exaggerating of course, what, you think I’m crazy or something?!)
Some of my beautiful new shoes, photo inspired by 3smem's blog about girly stuff! =D
And beautiful make up packaging like Stila or Benefit. The latter's packaging is so retro dontcha think? And Stilla has the bestest, prettiest, most beautifully packaged lip glaze ever. I’ve actually never tried using it before, haha, but with packaging like that, any girl who uses has to feel like the most beautiful girl alive. Packaging sells! These companies have a smart marketing team that’s for sure! I’m waffling...ooops, sorry!
It’s not hard to imagine why the beauty industry is such a thriving one in today’s world. Facials, make up, manicures, pedicures, waxing, slimming, most of course, targeted at the fairer sex and of course, not forgetting the new-age metrosexual male. All this pulling, polishing, painting and squeezing ourselves into an unfathomable mold.
What's the point, I sometimes can't help but wonder.
But after all's been said and done, I agree with this tagline I spotted at Benefit’s counter in MidValley.
A smile can make anyone beautiful.
"A smile can make anyone beautiful...so grin and wear it!" Kinda ironic, since they're selling cosmetics, but maybe reverse psychology works in pushing sales?
Today marks the 6th anniversary of the 911 tragedy. It's been six years already.
Labels: Girl stuff, Opinion
