We talked
about beauty and fashion in class today. As I am a human, I think I have
a sense of beauty, and although my knowledge of fashion is lacking, I
inherently express some form of it simply through being here.
Seeing as how the school is in the fashion district, I have several students who are here to either study fashion or are in the fashion world. When you have many insights into and opinions about the world, and are eager to share them, especially when given an audience, one major challenge faced is tempering the expression of your own ideas, because you must focus on the fact that you can only do so much in the service of edification because your real objective is to stimulate conversation. And you aren't just serving the students this way. You're serving yourself, because you learn from them. I point that out more as a reminder to myself, but if this is useful to you in some way or someday, so much the better.
The class commenced with discussions of everyone's definition of the word "fashion," and what they considered important, and what they noticed on other people. Then we moved more toward the beauty side of things, which encompasses fashion and goes well beyond. My favorite part was when I asked everyone to name something beautiful, and most people named positive human qualities.
At the conclusion of the class, I read them some quotes that I thought were beautiful. I tried to show movie clips, but the sound wasn't high enough, and one of them I couldn't even find online, so I had to recite it from memory. Afterward I asked for any comments, and they said, “Thank you,” but differently from how they usually say it, and I could see they meant it. I responded with, "Thank YOU," which I said in all sincerity, because they are constantly teaching me as well.
On Monday I'll have new classes. I'll be teaching business English to post-advanced students. I'm sure we'll all learn plenty. Hopefully it will help me to shine a light on what I'm getting into as I continue to organize, edit, and, if all goes according to the initial plan, send some works for publication this month. Although dollars will be welcome if they come, because they have the ability to feed the body and provide pathways which grow the soul, I am making myself remember such gifts of BEAUTY IN SPIRIT ARE THE HIGHEST GOAL
