Does outward beauty really matter?
Once I was talking to a lady who was disappointed with her beauty contest result. She had come to a metropolitan city for the contest, and she did not end up as a winner. According to her the aesthetics of the hosting country of the beauty contest was different from what she had expected. Nothing could I think of to encourage her. However, I did ask her about the value of beauty. I asked her after many years would she still be beautiful? This is a realistically cruel question. I wanted her to see that charm and beauty are only temporary, and there should something more precious and lasting that worth looking for.
We talk less about the outward appearance of men. However, we still hope that we can look younger especially when we are aging. When people look at me and comment that I still look the same as many years ago, I know that is more a polite comment than what is real. Over the years, I keep losing hair. And my usual response to the polite saying is that now I have a bigger face than before.
Indeed, I cannot be younger and better looking than before. However, if a face can symbolise respect, I do hope that I can receive greater respect because of maturity.
Nevertheless, both beauty and respect are still temporary. Overtime, they may all fade away.
What if there is more to life?
外在美真的那么重要吗？
有一次和一位在选美比赛中受挫折者交谈，她来到一个大都会城市参加比赛而结果没有中选。她認为该选美比赛主辦国的審美观有異於她的期望。我当时不知道要如何鼓励她，但是我仍然问了她有关颜值的问题。我问她多年後她是否会仍然美丽呢？这是一个残忍但真实的问题，我要她看见吸引力和美貌不过是短暂的，而值得寻求的应该是更宝贵及长久的。
通常我们较少会谈起男仕的外表。然而，我们还是会期望在老化时看起来比实际年龄年轻些。当人看见我而说我看起来一如往昔，我知道那是客套的话。这些年来我渐渐失去了好些頭髪，因此我対这些话的囘应是我的臉比以前大了。
事实上，我不可能比以前年轻好看，然而，如果一个面部可以象征尊敬，我的确期望因为成熟度而得到更多尊敬。
無論如何，美容和尊敬均是暂时的，逐渐地它们会消失了。
難道生命只不过如此吗？
A beautiful flower withers only a matter of time, so also charm and beauty and even respect rendered by people.
一朵美丽的花枯萎只是时间问题, 吸引力和美容什至受到尊敬也不过如此。
