Variety in the universe is the norm not the exception. No two things are exactly alike. That is why we, as humans, look different, have unique fingerprints, eye features, DNA and any number of other things that can distinguish us from one another. It would probably be safe to bet that there are no two objects on this planet that would be identified identical as scrutinized by science. Yes, there are many things that, to the human eye, may appear to be identical but they are not. From a distance, the trees in Aspen Grove, Utah, appear to be very much alike, but no two are exactly the same. Isn’t it wonderful that our creator built into both living and inanimate objects variety? Many of us take vacations to visit places on the planet that are different from the way the planet looks where we live. We stand in awe at the variety on our beautiful planet. Fortunately, we were not created by a master chef with a cookie cutter but rather by a loving creator who delighted in variety. Too, there is not a universal quartermaster who hands out uniforms to the human race so we will be dressed alike and less likely to be distinguished as different. We ought to thank God that we have different likes and dislikes. Walking down the street, we may pass a person having on his “personally designed,” uniform. One that we would not be caught dead in, but one that he is obviously thrilled with by the way it makes him appear in his mirror. I remember, as a child, going to traveling carnivals that were annually scheduled for a short visit in our town. I was sometimes fascinated by what they referred to as the “Freak Show.” They sometimes featured individuals such as the bearded lady, the fattest person in the world, the strongest man, a fire eater, etc. These were persons who were different in the extreme. We are all different and have a variety of shapes, sizes, looks, hair and skin color, and on and on. Criticism of others can often come back at us. A person of a different race, nationality, etc. may appear different and even strange to us, but to those persons, we too appear different and maybe strange in the way we appear to them.
I was watching a show on TV the other night, and a young man who has seldom dated was matched up by a friend with a woman who worked out and was a bodybuilder. During their date, she frequently referred to his flabby arms and invited him several times to come to the gym where she worked out so that he could do something about his body. Yet, this woman, to me, was not particularly attractive; she was not feminine looking, she did not look like my mother, my wife, etc. However, to another she is possibly an ideal woman. There you have the key. We are all different, making us attractive to some and at the same time unattractive to others. While I was writing this thought, a song from my youth kept coming to mind: “Everyone (thing) is Beautiful in Its Own Way” (lyrics below), by Ray Stevens.
Jesus loves the little children,
All the little children of the world.
Red and yellow, black and white,
They are precious in his sight.
Jesus loves the little children of the world.
Everything is beautiful in its own way.
Like the starry summer night, or a snow-covered winter’s day. And everybody’s beautiful in their own way.
Under God’s heaven, the world’s gonna find the way.
There is none so blind as he who will not see.
We must not close our minds; we must let our thoughts be free. For every hour that passes by, we know the world gets a little bit older.
It’s time to realize that beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder… We shouldn’t care about the length of his hair,
or the color of his skin.
Don’t worry about what shows from without,
but the love that lives within.
And we’re gonna get it all together now;
everything gonna work out fine.
Just take a little time to look on the good side my friend,
And straighten it out in your mind.
We too, may say that “Everyone is beautiful,” but actually we have been programmed to look at others with a somewhat biased and critical eye; how do they match up by societies artificial “Norm?” We may even pride ourselves in our evaluative skills: That person is too skinny, too fat, too tall, too short, hair is too straight, too curly, too thin, too thick. We will see people whose nose is too long or too short, whose teeth are crooked, who have teeth that stick out too far, people who have no teeth. Could we not go on and on about what we do not like about ourselves or what we may ignorantly criticize another for?
As Seth Adam Smith wrote, “We live in a culture that hates the body. We set unsustainable standards of physical beauty. We publish them to the world, as if they were “the norm.” The fact of the matter is, we are all different, all beautiful, and that is the norm. Look around you and you will see that the skinny, the bald, the long-nosed person—they are the “norm” and they are “beautiful.”
Some young people who do not look like the advertised and supposedly “normal but beautiful person” become discouraged thinking they will never find a companion because they are not beautiful based on that “norm,” for they do not match up. The most important way that we must prepare ourselves to meet and to find love and acceptance in this life is by making sure we ourselves are tolerant and kind, and that we are looking for the real “norm.” I am one who is happy that I am unique, that I am a bald-headed old man. I have survived mostly unscathed by the society’s “Norm,” and I pray the same for you because you, too, are beautiful in your own and unique way.