I'm A Quasi Jerk

Did it tick anyone else off when, in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Esmerelda picked Phoebus instead of Quasimodo? We all know why she picked Phoebus - he wasn't really that great compared to Quasimodo's kindness and sacrifice And this is only from the Disney version. In the book, Esmerelda is obviously disgusted with Quasimodo's appearance without knowing anything else about him (although he is pretty loony in the book version due to his personal issues) - and Pheobus is kind of a creep. Anyway, I definitely think she should have gone with Quasimodo in the Disney movie (and no one in the book!).

So, that was just a rant that along the same theme of what I'm actually going to talk about. ;-)

It doesn't take much for me to get onto certain trains of though and I suppose this one won't be the most originally insightful revelation I've ever had. But it definitely has made me take note of how I think about things and how I would want my kids to think about things.

It began with seeing on the news the pictures of the two young adults suspected of the Boston marathon bombing. My first thought was "Wow. They don't look like 'bad guys'. They're just a couple of young good-looking boys." And, because I saw this right after a night of Disney on Ice, it made be think about how "Prince Charming" is always portrayed as very handsome. It would be inconceivable for Snow White, Cinderella, or any other "princess" to be pursued by a physically unattractive fellow. (Maybe The Princess and the Frog is the best anti-example of this - they fell in love as frogs!)

It made me realize that I don't want my kids to grow up and fall-in with people that they think are good because they "look" good. And I don't want them to miss out on something wonderful in a friend or potential spouse because a person may not be aesthetically pleasing or look like Prince (or Princess) Charming. I want my kids to see that beauty isn't in the EYE of the beholder - but the HEART of the beholder. AND in the HEART of the . . . . beheld? Beholded? You get the picture: We need to look with more than our eyes.

When it's put into words I've always felt this way. But I didn't realized it's in my heart until a thought like what I had crossed my mind. I guess it's somewhat ingrained in me to look at a picture of someone and judge their heart based on their mug. I'm going to try to stop doing that.