I remember reading a story once about a man who was exploring some caves by the seashore. In one of the caves he found a canvas bag with a bunch of hardened clay balls. It was like someone had rolled up some clay and left them out in the sun to bake. They didn't look like much, but they intrigued the man so he took the bag out of the cave with him. As he strolled along the beach, to pass the time, he would throw the clay balls one at a time out into the ocean as far as he could throw. He thought little about it until he dropped one of the balls and it cracked open on a rock. Inside was a beautiful, precious stone. Excited, the man started breaking open the remaining clay balls. Each contained a similar treasure. He found thousands of rupees worth of jewels in the 20 or so clay balls he had left. Then it struck him. He had been on the beach a long time. He had thrown maybe 50 or 60 of the clay balls with their hidden treasure into the ocean waves. Instead of thousands of rupees in treasure, he could have had tens of thousands, but he just threw it all away.
You know sometimes, it's like that with people. We look at someone, maybe even ourselves, and we see the external clay vessel. It doesn't look like much from the outside. It isn't always beautiful or sparkling so we discount it; we see that person as less important than someone more beautiful or stylish or well known or wealthy. But we have not taken the time to find the treasure hidden inside that person. There is a treasure hidden in every one of us. We are wonderfully made. Not just our physical bodies, our spiritual selves, which are sometimes hidden from others by the "earthen vessel." But if you take the time to get to know that person, and if you ask the Spirit to show you that person the way He sees them, then the brilliant gem begins to shine forth. The glory of a relationship is not the outstretched hand, nor the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when he discovers that someone else believes in him and is willing to trust him. This trust cannot be achieved through external appearances. The belief, one have in the inner spirit/character earns good relationships.
Outwardly appearances/beauty are many times deceptive. It is not always correct to make judgment about anything by its exterior appearance. One cant find the real worth of any one just by seeing his external appearances. Not all who looks decent outside are decent inside too. One should be judged only by their characters and not by their outward appearance. In real life situation, many crooks, by their outward attitude and behavior, make themselves appear to be gentlemen and noble people. That is why there is a famous proverb saying “All that glitters is not gold”. So in every walk of life, one should always remember that outward appearances/beauty may not always be the truth and act accordingly.
With Love,
Image Courtesy : Google Images
excellent article shruti....really thought provoking post....:)
ReplyDeletei agree with this. there are pearls in every one of us. there are few who see just that clay shell and throw away, some see us even more closely and then break us open to find the pearl!
ReplyDeletelike the saying, dont judge a book by the cover, ain't it? :)
liked this post. very thoughtful and thought provoking! nicely done!
@Kaka
ReplyDeleteAgain you are first! Seems you are completely back with a bang!
Thanks :)
@Leo
ReplyDeleteThanks A lot leo! Yes, appearances are deceptive and our own eyes can trick us! But the inner self/character decides the person!
aww shucks! i tht i was first. ;)
ReplyDeletemissed by a whisker! :D
@Leo
ReplyDelete3minute difference! Kaka always write the first comment in almost all of my post! You are a nightbirdie?!
i'm awake till half past 12, bloghopping! :D so guess u could say that! :)
ReplyDeletepretty neat write up...u summed up the moral very nicely...keep it up girl...tc :)
ReplyDeleteI read a book recently shruti - its by Paulo Coelho. Its called fairy tales for kids and parents (or something close to that) but its actually a collection of his columns. Very thought provoking stories.
ReplyDeleteThis story of yours and the wonderful way you have elucidated its relevance to real life reminds me so much of that book. You should read it if you ever find it.
@Leo
ReplyDeleteBlog hopping eh?! That's how you found mine eh?!
Good!
@Neha
ReplyDeleteThanks a ton girlie :)
http://feedbooks.com/book/3888 - you can find more about it here. Searched it just for you. :) hope you like it.
ReplyDelete@Ro
ReplyDeleteYeah even i heard of this book! Seriously am searching this in all libraries.. But when i utter Paulo Coelho Am getting only, 'THE ALCHEMIST'
Thank u so much!
@Ro
ReplyDeleteyou searched it just for me? *beaming*
Am speechless...
Thanks girl :)
Will surely get it :)
my pleasure :) Glad to have been of help..
ReplyDelete@Ro
ReplyDeleteYou are making me speechless yet again!
Am really really glad that you liked this post :)
@ Shruti,
ReplyDeleteI have been facing the bias and prejudice towards the physical appearances since my childhood and i can really empathize how practically things differ in the world than the writings in my every day encounters with this evolving society. I am habituated now.
@mahesh
ReplyDeleteYes,
the society is so sick! But appearances are deceptive. There was discrimination's everywhere! A pitiable incident happened today! That made me write this article! Seriously I have never felt so much in my life than today! My friend and her dreams were totally shattered, because of appearance! :(
But still, as you say, we are habituated!
Hey girl.. head straight to my blog quick.. we want you to read my latest post fast :) I want your comments on this :D We all want your comments :D
ReplyDeleteAn excellent write, most thought provoking and as always a pleasure to read.
ReplyDeleteYvonne.
Hey girlie..you writing beautiful stories with moral in them.. loved this article.. I had written an article about the same thing here.
ReplyDeleteyeah, dropped in from Yellow Tulip's space. your profile pic sort of attracted me there :D
ReplyDeleteand your words kept me interested here. :)
Lovely shruti :) really nice!!
ReplyDeletewhat a piece shruDi,
ReplyDeleteI am really thinking of giving u a new appellation...
Excellent post!
ReplyDeleteDay by day, ur writing is becoming cho chweet and mature too...
Many times, we ppl tend to judge a person by his appearance... But external beauty is illusory and it just provoke us to make a wrong judgement...
When I was reading this post, a dialogue of similar meaning from'Anbe Sivam' crept into my mind...
I know it's wrong & that we shd always people after properly knowing him/her. But think how many people do you meet everyday and you make some impression out of few of them.
ReplyDeleteI guess the problem is not making an impression without properly knowing a person because most of the time, we dont have the time, but to do remember that our impressions shd not be our final impression that when we take a decision based on that impression we shd always keep in mind how much we know that person.
I'm wondering what provoked you to write about this.
ReplyDeleteAgree with all you have to say. Pt is, most ppl know appearances are deceiving yet they fall prey & make wrong judgements.
Shruti,well said.How I wish people see the reality,rather than inside-outside.
ReplyDeletePretty thought provoking post!!
ReplyDeleteGood interpretation from the story too!! :)
ooo yenga patti intha kathai soli irukanga...looong back...quite agree...outward experiences can easily decieve ..!
ReplyDeleteThought provoking Post..Shruti..:)
ReplyDeleteI too agree that looks are deceptive...But unfortunately looks matters in most cases, I have seen people discriminating others on such issues in every domain of life....
I would just say it is due to our prejudiced and conditioned mind....
Cheers!!
hehe
ReplyDeleteyou impressed me with the spiritual relationship that you mentioned
keep smiling!
@Avada
ReplyDeleteVisited and had lots of fun :)
@Yvonne
ReplyDeleteThanks lady :)
@Avada
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot girl and saw ur post too...beauty v/s brain!
@Leo
ReplyDeleteWow! Am flattered! Thanks :)
@MM
ReplyDeleteThanks re :)
@RSV
ReplyDeleteAm waiting to hear your new appellation :)
@Bala
ReplyDeleteThanks da :)
Cho chweet ah?!?! Its all cos of ur blessings!
Judging person by their appearance is surely wrong! Anbe sivam is a a good example for this!
@Mustaf
ReplyDeleteYou are not gonna get into relationships with all those who pass by you! Only with certain people you are gonna be der :)
so that's what i meant!
@Rohitha
ReplyDeleteKnow what?! My friend's life was turned upside down for the same reason :(
@Chowla Ji
ReplyDeleteIts very true, wish we have people like that !
@Shilpa
ReplyDeleteThanks a ton lady!
@Hary
ReplyDeleteVery true na? Though we think it as a story how many inward meaning they possess!
nice story shruthi..... good one...
ReplyDelete@Amit
ReplyDeleteYes, true...many fall as a prey to these looks! But we all will understand these concepts more by experience!
@Chetan
ReplyDeleteReally glad that you liked that story!
@Shankz Thanks da!
ReplyDeleteI loved the story. Nice message. (with all the philosophical stuff that you publish now, I am wondering if we can give a title 'madam socrates' what say :-)
ReplyDeleteone who looks like a hero isnt a hero and one who looks like a villain isnt a villain!
ReplyDeletecharacter matters!
the first para story is really thought provoking!
@Bharathi
ReplyDeleteHey its because of the retrospection which I did after reading ur posts!!
Madam Socrates ah!? :~P
@Srivatsan
ReplyDeleteThathuvam thathuvam :P
But what u said is right!Thanks a lot!
hmm..neenag soliruakrathu romba vaasthavamaana vaarthai..aana u think it can be applied 100%??
ReplyDelete@Gils
ReplyDeletewhy do u think it cant be applied 100%
therila..i find it difficult at times to follow this truly...after erring only i realise it..
ReplyDelete@Gils
ReplyDeleteTo err is human, to forgive is divine!
enga appearence vachu form agarathu thaana mukkavasi impressions..apdi elarum intha mathiri yosika arambichita fashion industrye buss aagidatha
ReplyDelete@Gils
ReplyDeleteFashion industry is a profession re! But in relationships, this can't be accounted! Character matters! If anyone ask u whether U wanna be handsome or a brainy what will u reply?!
dis is a great post.......telling d ppl d fact dat most of us r forgetting dese daz.......
ReplyDeletewell written...
@TA
ReplyDelete:-)
Thank u!