Guest Author - Cassandra George Sturges
Swans are one of the most beautiful waterfowls in the world to me. When people find something attractive they typically want to own it and exploit it. If people could, they would try to capture swans and place them in their front yards. People would pet their beautiful white feathers with their dirty hands. People would have swan feathers hanging from the rearview mirrors in their car. Like the parrot and canary, people would place swans in cages in their living rooms to show off their beauty to their friends. Swans are huge, majestic birds, which glide with elegance and class. They float with their necks erect and heads held high with power, grace and beauty.
I am captivated by their beauty. I was shocked to learn that swans are one of the most aggressive and vicious waterfowls when it comes to protecting themselves and their offspring. In fact, swans are not friendly birds in general and are very aggressive about protecting their territory. They are the only known waterfowl to kill humans when they feel threatened. The swan knows that it would be impossible for it to survive if it did not possess the inner strength to protect beauty of its magnitude.
People in general don’t cuddle lions no matter how beautiful they are. We don’t run our fingers through their thick beautiful manes. Some physical and intellectual gifts that are potent and powerful cause intense reactions and attractions from others. It would be impossible for swans to survive if they did not possess an equal amount of inner strength and power of the same degree as their outer physical beauty in order to protect themselves from being violated and exploited by others.
Do you know of someone who appears to have everything but they constantly do things to destroy blessings and good deeds in their lives? I knew a girl in middle school who was absolutely gorgeous. All the boys loved her and the girls wished that they could be like her. She had long beautiful hair. She was smart, funny and popular. She was also abusive to herself. She smoked, drank and was promiscuous. She had a body that most people would pay good money for; but she conducted herself as if she was worthless.
She was killed before her twenty-third birthday. As an adult looking back, I don’t think that she felt that she deserved the gift of extraordinary beauty that God had so freely given to her. She destroyed herself because she lacked the inner strength to handle other people’s reactions to her outer beauty. She could not psychologically handle the magnitude of people being in awe of what she had no internal control over creating.
Most people are not going to tell you how much you are worth - you tell them - through your demeanor and by what you are willing to put-up with. Sometimes the biggest trick in life is not about trying to acquire something new, but recognizing the worth of what you already possess. The second trick is learning how to utilize your gifts and talents to your advantage so that you are not exploited by others. Many times physical beauty is a tricky gift… a double edged sword that destroys its owner.
When the Universe has blessed you with the gift of beauty you must have the confidence to know that you deserve it and that you don’t owe God or need to prove anything to anyone. For the most part, we set our own price and society pays us what we think we are worth. You must honor your own beauty and self-worth or you will be exploited by others. The world can only see and respect you as you see and respect yourself. This is the way of the Swan.
