Sometimes Only Beauty Can Talk To Your Beast

Disney characters are not my usual choice of subject matter but I must admit that my mind has presently become enchanted by the story of ‘Beauty and the Beast‘.

A witch places a curse upon a handsome Prince turning him into a beast because of the horror of his character. An old man is held captive by the beast due to an accident and his daughter Belle goes on a rescue mission to get her father back but falls into a much bigger adventure; falling in love and releasing the Beast from his curse.

This tale has a happy ending but life does not always grant us such a wish. Although this story is make-believe, it also mirrors human reality.  We are allured into a display of unconditional love. The fierce awakened heart of Belle vs the dead heart of the Beast.

Belle’s beauty not only entices the natural eye but is also within. Beauty is defined in the dictionary as;

The quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind, whether arising from sensory manifestations (as shape, colour, sound, etc.), a meaningful design or pattern, or something else (as a personality in which high spiritual qualities are manifest).

It is a personality and character trait, not just an external mark. Belle’s internal beauty not only accepts but unrestrictedly loves. The bravery of her heart pours out love and life to the Beast who is cold and uninviting in nature.

What I love about both characters other than their vast differences is their need for each other. Life must meet with death.

Life can cause us to become like the Beast; ugly. Part of our nature, our character turns wild in order to cope with how we have handled life. We can become cold on the inside whilst operating as normal in society. Externally we have it all going on but internally we are or have died.

We can bring the term ‘living dead’ to life, physically alive but internally sleeping.  The Beast was as fine as can be. He operated in all his powers and duties as Prince but a part of him was quite dead on the inside.

The thought came to me recently that we all need beauty in our lives. Pure and true love brings forth a deeper beauty that outshines its external counterpart. The kind of love that melts hearts and is not destructive or lustful. Belle’s warm heart and loving nature freed an enslaved Prince from his cruel and selfish nature. We all need a nature in life that causes us to become better.

This can be seen in the relationship of Phoebe and Cole in the TV series Charmed. Cole is a half human/ half demon (Belthazor) sent to kill Phoebe and her sisters who are witches. Cole falls in love with Phoebe and it is this love that not only saves Phoebe and her sisters but also Cole. The beauty of love from Phoebe takes over and helps the beast inside Cole.

 

Again this happens  in the film Dracula: Untold. In order to protect his kingdom Prince Vlad becomes a monster (vampire). When the beast inside of him becomes stronger it is his wife who calms the beast through love by reminding him of who he really is.

These examples show beauty and love through the vessel of a woman but I want us to look beyond gender and see that the real beauty is expressed through their internal nature. This beauty within them and a ‘knowing’ of who they are paves way for unconditional love, continuous persistence and strength to accept those they love. Out of this strength a hope and grace is released which empowers them to walk alongside a beast nature until the original nature comes back.

Sometimes it is hard to talk to a beast but love can break through. On our good and bad days we can all become like the Hulk. Kind words, encouragement, wise counsel and advice; anything that awakens us inside is important. Not a quick fix pill but a character and nature that transforms us into who we really are.

The beast transformed back into the Prince but had changed his nature. Cole eventually lost Phoebe due to his dark side and lived in regret, never losing or forgetting his love for her. A battle caused Prince Vlad to lose his wife and he became a monster for eternity.

We always have a choice in the matter of who we become. We cannot control life circumstances or guarantee our endings but we can choose who we are. We must allow beauty to transform us when presented with it in its true form, accept true love. Finding this is a process but your journey with true beauty and love must begin.

 

 

Death To A Dream

Image Courtesy of Brian Scott

 

Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. (1Peter 5:8 New Living Translation)

Sometimes we can’t define or justify the things we do. We live, make mistakes and learn but the real issue comes after we make the mistakes. Do we make a mistake then learn from it which births a change in our responses or do we make a mistake, keep making the same mistake but ultimately give up?

In life, realistically we have two options, Do or Die (also a great song by TheBandWithNoName– you should check it out!)

Not only in mistakes do our choices lye but choices also lye in our dreams. Any man can dream a dream but it takes more than a dreamer to make a dream. We can talk the talk but when it comes to making our dreams reality, can we pursue, push and endure the necessary things it takes in order to make those dreams a reality.

The Bible speaks of Satan looking for someone to destroy. Whether we believe in God or not, whether we are Christians or not; we all have something in life that looks to bring harm, bring us down or even look to ultimately take over our lives with possible death destroying results. However when it comes to our dreams, what do we do? Do we defend them and continue to pursue them until they come to life or do we give up on them.

Personal experiences we go through shape and evolve us as human beings. We move from the transition of baby, to child, to teenager, to adult. Each stage faces great diffculties and extremely joyous, achievable moments; but when do we let these memories, experiences and situations in which people are involved DESTROY our dreams?

 

Hannibal Lecter

The film ‘Hannibal Rising’ holds a very interesting idea that can be expressed in dreams and the death of dreams in the dreamer. In the scene where the Inspector is speaking to the woman who looks after Hannibal, he says (which I think you should find for yourself as I don’t want to give the film away) that a part of Hannibal died. In reality, this can be the same for us and our dreams. Does this sound familiar to you? Can you relate to this experience or emotion?

People, past and present situations, circumstances and experiences can all be used as a barrier and sword to the killing of our dreams. Pursuing a hearts desire is something people want to live but life holds it back and some give up. I guess what I’m trying to say is NEVER give up on your dreams. If something is meant to be, it’ll be but there’s more to life than wishing (within reason of course). You have the abilities to do what you want (morally speaking within wisdom) but now it’s in the mind where the dreamer now moves to dream-making.

We all feel to give up sometimes but it’s through the pushing and pursuing that the dreams become reality.