Sometimes beauty takes time

Some things and some people are born beautiful. They are born being special and precious, and are set apart from others from the very beginning. But this is not always the case and nor is it the only beauty that exists.

Sometimes some things, and some people, take a little more time. They become beautiful through the processes and struggles of life and living. And it is perhaps these processes and struggles that make these things and these people all the more beautiful.

And this beauty is not just found in the way of appearance, but in a certain inexplicable quality that endears one from the very first meeting. This beauty is not the frivolous, temperamental, fleeting kind so often found in youth – but the almost-aged, experienced and wise beauty that comes with the ticking of the clock.

So often people stop to admire the loveliness and the mesmerising display of a butterfly. But almost never do we stop to appreciate the changes, the pain, and the effort that the butterfly has gone through to achieve that beauty. From making its way through a cocoon to surviving in an unforgiving world, that butterfly portrays the true beauty that we all ought to come to appreciate – beauty that comes from survival.

“Life is under no obligation to give you what you expect.”

The general viewpoint when it comes to giving advice on having high expectations in any situation in your life is that if you expect nothing in specific you will never be disappointed. And maybe that’s one of the best pieces of advice out there.

There’s a fine line between being hopeful and pinning all your hopes on something you would like to happen. It’s not about being cynical, it’s about guarding your heart against the disappointment and sadness that follows an outcome not being able to rise to meet up to the heights that you have set in your mind. And although pain is necessary, some could be avoided.

Life then becomes a lot easier when you accept that people weren’t put on this earth to live up to your expectations and neither are you here to live up to anyone else’s. And then that lowered expectation leaves room for the surprise and joy that could come from having something good happen.

The harder you hold on to your expectations, of life and of people, you will find that they are like delicate China. With the right amount of grip on them, you can feel the beauty of the object, but if you hold it too tightly it will break and cut you.