” The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed.” Albert Einstein
It is the imagination, the mind, which determines what is beautiful or what is average or just plain. Each person has their own interpretation of what is beautiful. However, the one true aspect of beauty is that it comes from the mind. Something mysterious, which doesn’t reveal everything, stimulates the mind. The mystery behind the object, what our mind sees, is what makes us wonder. This is why is it not what you look at, but rather what you see that matters.
Gazing at something that we understand does little to stimulate the mind. Many people say the naked body is beautiful, but that is not true. A well proportioned body with just the right parts covered is beautiful. A naked body leaves nothing to the imagination. There is no mystery behind a naked body, no matter how well proportioned. More people would find a model beautiful, in a certain pose with clothes on, than in the same pose with no clothes on. Naked, we begin to see their flaws, how skinny they are, how their bones are protruding where they shouldn’t be. Clothed, we imagine how they would look underneath, how perfect their bodies must be.
It is the same with art, words or knowledge. The person who knows everything is boring. The person who knows everything speaks with precise words, conveying everything about each topic. This leaves nothing to the imagination, and so, people find those who can explain things in minute details boring. The interesting people are the ones who stimulate our mind, who give us just enough information to make us think, to let our imagination wonder.
Art and pictures that people find beautiful are the ones which make them wonder. “What was the artist thinking when he painted this?”. “How did the photographer get those colors in that landscape?”
This is the reason why most people find text books boring. They are nothing more than vessels conveying facts. They do nothing to our imagination, unless they are books about your chosen profession, in which case they will spark your imagination. The best books in the world are the ones which make people think, which ignite the imagination.
This is why most people can’t watch a movie or read a book if they already know the ending. The ability for it to stimulate your mind has been taken away.
If you want to enjoy this life, to get more satisfaction out of the time you’ll spend here, leave something for your imagination. Don’t know 100 percent of everything. Try just knowing 90 percent. Let your imagination come up with the other 10 percent. You’ll start finding beauty where you never did before.
Omar M. Kiam 