Beauty is immortal. Beauty is real. In the world, beauty only, or the lack thereof, is real. The illusion we call "the world" is only that, an illusion. What we actually see is the beauty of it, then we transform that beauty into shapes, forms, and colors and shades with which we can identify in order to simplify, or complicate, each as we desire, this four-dimensional life we have chosen to live.

Do not mistake this as meaning that nothing is true. To say that nothing is true is to spread a false and rather pessimistic view of our "world" and our four-dimensional life. In essence, "nothing is true" is a lie. In point of fact, nothing is false, only misconstrued. The reason some do not grasp this is that most people prefer to watch life in black and white, so to speak, as opposed to participate in it in color. This much sought after gift of color is easily attained through the use and expression of emotions and the continued learning and altering of morals. Your morals define who and what you are. If you are not being true to your morals, you are not being true to yourself, and if you are not being true to yourself, then all that you are and all that you pretend to be is a lie which eventually fades into nothingness, leaving only that small part of you that is truth for others to pass by. But don't let your morals tie you too tightly to the past. The past is lost and unchangeable. The future consists of an infinite number of possibilities. The present is that moment in time that exists only long enough for you to live through it, then it becomes part of the past. In other words, the present does not exist as a concrete truth, but as an episode depending entirely on your motions and wishes.

So, what remains? The world, as Richard Bach puts it in Illusions, is your exercise book. You can paint beautiful pictures in it depicting the truth of the beauty you see in it; you can write words of wisdom or nonsense there. You are also free to rip the pages out. This world, this life, is one of complete freedom of will. There is nothing you are not free to do, and nothing you are forced to do that you don't want to do to begin with. But, everything you do, regardless of how novel the idea or how recent the concept, has already been done, either by you or by someone else, either in this life or another one, and whatever you don't complete in this life will be accomplished in yet a future life. The choice of where and when is yours to make, and you also have the right not to choose. There is nothing wrong with being irresponsible. Irresponsibility is natural if it increases the overall pleasure and enjoyment you experience while progressing through your immortal life.

As you progress, your life becomes a prism through which your beauty passes. In different stages, it takes on different forms. Beauty may be interpreted as physical (lustful?) attractiveness, a distinct and clear self-expression, an intelligent wit, or any number of infinite possibilities. The list is endless, truly. But the beauty is always there, present in mind, body, intellect, and soul simultaneously in varying degrees. How you choose to exercise it and how you choose to interpret others' beauty depends largely on how you approach the continuing question of existence. Will you accept the truth as you see it, or will you strive for an even deeper truth, hoping for the even deeper beauty? The choice is yours. That is the common denominator through which we are all equal: we each have the equal right to free will. Anyone who tells us differently is destined to fall because of the untruth he believes in. Again, the option not to choose is always available to those who want others to live their lives for them, for that is inevitably what becomes of those who remain inactive thinkers or decision-makers.

There are several questions you must constantly ask yourself: Who are you? Where are you coming from? Where are you going? Why are you doing what you are doing? No matter how constant your beliefs, no matter how steady your own preconceptions of life, the answers to these questions will remain constantly changing, just as your beauty remains constantly changing. It is for these changes in attitude that we chose to live this life and for this learning that we suffer the "injustices" cast upon us by the very nature of our existence. The pain is inevitable, though we decide what will hurt us and to what degree it will affect us. It is a contract we make between our beauty and our soul and our desire to learn. It is a choice we make easily with ourselves, for this compromise is one that will progress us to further knowledge and, through that knowledge, to further and higher planes of emotion, beauty, and existence.

To quote from Richard Bach again, "Not my will, but thine be done, for what is thy will is mine for thee." That one line embodies all of our existences. It is as simple as beauty, as magnificent as knowledge.

But with knowledge comes incredible power. As Henry Kissinger is so fond of saying, "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Do not get lost in the power of your knowledge. Power is a non-directed force of incredible, potentially infinite proportions, and if ever you were to realize the whole of the extent of that power, and not check it, the absolute power of your knowledge would begin to corrupt absolutely.

Beware of all who say they have an answer that will work for you as it did for them, for no "answer" is the same for any two people. Each must find his own answer for himself. But do not be afraid to ask for assistance in finding that answer, as you chose to live this life with these people for precisely that reason- to let them help you. So, open to them, shine brightly what you are, and those you need to learn from, as well as those that need to learn from you, will be drawn to you and you to them. Richard Bach calls this cosmic law, cosmic magnetism. Whatever it is, law, magnetism, natural attraction and displacement, it is an integral part of what you are, of what we are. To deny it is to deny yourself. Very simply, don't.

Howard Scott
16 July 1986