What if a single letter could hold the fragrance of sadness (dark, heavy – almost unbearable) and release is softly like a light perfume mist? The Hebrew Letter Bet carries such a secret, its world is unique !
Letter Bet (ב)
as metaphor for this transfiguration
At first it looks like just a cold black letter. The same way when you first start dealing with sadness – it is raw and cold. It is only when start conversing with it, that it starts glowing from within. Gradually, as darkness layers start peeling off, your vision broadens and you realize several things that were hidden before.
Inter alia you realize that Bet is actually an archetype , subject to various levels of interpretation
In this respect, the 3 surrounding lines can represent the framing bauty . The dot inside Bet is called dagesh, this is sadness (distilled) rich in meaning. The fact that is closed on 3 sides, while some of its lines are curvy suggest there is enough structure to frame it so that it doesn’t spill over but at the time this beauty is not meant to trap, solve it. It is supposed to hold it allowing it to breathe and move, while living with its contradictions[1](13=4)
The opening on the left is its transfiguration as the interaction progresses and the inner shimmer shows up. What is interesting is that without the dot inside Bet becomes Vet which is softer while Bet ( with the dot inside) is more decisive, it carries depth , resonance. It is not random that the Hebrew word for blessing ( Berakhah) begins with Bet.
It is not a coincidence either , that even though the alphabet starts with letter Aleph, the Torah starts with Bet , creation does not begin in the infinite but in the space that can contain it.
Why beauty matters in sadness
The reason why beauty is to be evoked, is because woundedness is one of the places where normal words fall short. The wound cries out for a new way to express itself.
Examples of sadness held in a Bet like frame are :
- The dignity and light residing behind the eyes of a homeless person, it is incredible how beautiful some of them are!
- A mother who after the loss of her child engages in philanthropic causes that support aid towards what took away her child;
- A composer who turns divorce into music;
- A person who in his knowledge that he can deal with pain without it destroying him develops self- esteem and an amazing sense of freedom.
The Greek word Kalon
The word beautiful in Greek is kalon. Kalon is associated with kalein a calling. On another note, beauty is seen as moral and aesthetic harmony.
In the beginning, turning back to Bet again we might able to see just the frames of beauty without nuances. But if we persevere, she will trust us and she will begin revealing herself to us in places we never expected.
To pause and reflect beauty refers to both what we immerse sadness in and the form it actually gets transfigured into.
The key word to respond to beauty’s call is the world reverence.(20) Approach everything and everyone realizing their inherent dignity and she will like to spend time with you. The important thing to bear in mind is that if we were only soul, she would be an eternal embrace. However, we are deeply ambivalent creatures on the threshold between matter and soul so she only gives innocent glances and disappears again.
However
If you train your sorrow tackling and beauty muscles, she will start visiting you much more often and then you will realize you are never alone in this world !
The aim is to cultivate a resonance field and immerse sadness n it so that, by implication, it starts vibrating at the same higher frequency – this is the key.
Beauty might be weightless but she gives you roots
Beauty is grace with an edge^
Having said that, I would like to let you know that we shouldn’t rush the process. Bet is not a loud letter, it is like a womb. Be diligent, respectful and things will unfold in due time naturally.
Like in the Bible – Psalm 1 Beauty visits us in Seasons.
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Fragnance card
World:
Hidden World (dominant) mystical structures
Eternal world (very present) archetypes, poetic framing, Biblical echoes
Resonance world (conclusion) visits us in seasons healing is spiral
Accord:
Main: Hebrew (Hebrew letters mystical weight)
Undertones
Greek, enters the section with kalon bringing luminous perspective
French, lyrical reflections on beauty and paradox, it is subtle more like a nuance
Trail: A subtle radiance, sadness lifted into light leaving behind a quiet glow
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[1] To calculate numbers in the post I take each vowel and I assign it a number, the number it has in the English alphabet. I then add all number, if we get a 2 digit numbers I add then again till I get one digit number. I create links with other words having the same number-