A Beautiful Man

On Beauty, Aging, and the Art of Becoming

Rose Jah

Dec 19, 2024

Transcript

A Beautiful Man

Yesterday,
I took a winter walk
wrapped in my warm coat,
with gloves and a scarf
breathing the crisp, cold air,
I watched the winter at play:
The world felt hushed,
The landscape reduced to its essence,
a simple, serene scene.

Trees stood bare
without leaves
holding up their many branches
like arms reaching for light
while their roots anchored deeply below,
hidden in the frozen earth.

I marveled at the trees,
with their graceful silhouettes
etched against the clear, bright sky.
Each twist and turn
telling a quiet story.

And then, from afar,
I saw a man approaching.
Before his details came into view,
I could already feel his warmth.

As he came closer
my eyes were drawn to his face
which held me in quiet awe.
It was as though I looked upon the trees again,
their branches mirrored in the lines on his face,
like delicate threads
unravelling the story of his life.

A story I could not know,
but one I could sense
in the depth of his gentle expression.

In those fleeting moments,
as we passed one another,
my gaze rested on him,
drawn to an unspoken beauty.

His face, softened by a tender smile
was embellished with exquisite lines
that spoke of him
and a life well-lived,
of challenges met with grace,
of kindness and warmth,
of courage
and of gratitude that refused to fade.

And I thought:
What a beautiful man.

In that brief encounter,
he left me a gift –
a quiet reminder of something profound:
We are all artists
We are all painters
We are the ones
shaping the contours of our faces,
painting the lines of our lives.

We choose to paint our stories
in joy and love,
or bitterness and fear,
We etch our laughter or our sorrow into tales,
leaving our marks on the canvas of our skin.

We are the ones
who paint our faces.

I turned to my sister .
walking by my side
I looked in her face
mirroring my own
and I thought:

Oh, let us live in such a way
that in old age our faces
will be etched
with deep lines of love,
of warmth
of hearts wide open
and brimming with gratitude for life –
for all that it gives and all that it takes.

And with that wish,
I smiled -
inviting joy into my being,
thereby putting myself to work
with a mindset
that paints our lives
with beautiful lines
allowing grace to branch out and take root
in my face.

Prompts for reflection:

Reflect on a time you encountered a stranger who left an impression on you. What about them caught your attention, and what did you take away from that moment?
Think about the “canvas” of your own life. What stories, emotions, or moments have shaped you so far?
What choices or attitudes are you currently painting onto your face and heart? And remember, you always have the choice to paint things differently. You are the author of your life and the artist of your face.
Imagine yourself in old age. What do you hope others will see and sense when they look at you?
Reflect on the people closest to you. What “lines” or stories do their faces tell, and how do those reflect their lives?