Beautiful

Today (Friday) we left Xizhou and the Linden Centre and began our journey into the foothills of the southern Himalayas. We arrived in the town of Shaxi about midday, as the weekly market was in full swing. There were lots of grannies for me to photograph and smile at! Most of the time, I stand at a little distance and try to catch them going about their normal routine; I really don't want them to be aware of me. Sometimes, though, I come up to them and ask if I can take their picture. The response rate is about 60/40 no/yes. There is no religious reason for their refusal, unlike some cultures where picture-taking is seen as stealing someone's soul. Rather it seems to be typical human shyness and the self-consciousness that many people have about their looks. It is kind of sad, really, that they don't realize how wonderful they are.

We experienced this at the Linden Centre with one of the young staff members, Xiao Tao. She was a real sweetie with an interesting face and huge round glasses. Several of us were with her one evening and someone asked if he could take her picture. She said no. We said we just wanted to have it to remember her, but she countered that we would have to remember her without a picture. The others' attention then turned to something else, so I had a chance to ask Xiao Tao why she didn't want her picture taken. She replied that she was embarrassed whenever she saw a picture of herself, that she didn't like the way she looked. I told her that I couldn't see why that would be the case because "We think you are beautiful!" Her eyebrows shot up and she paused for a moment. Then she replied, "Thank you for saying that to me. I am not considered beautiful by Chinese standards." I told her that by God's standards she was beautiful.

It would please me greatly if, at those moments in the future when she is experiencing self-doubt, she might also entertain the notion that she is, indeed, beautiful.

I would post a picture of Xiao Tao here, but...