When a person is looking to buy a new car or a new house, what is the first thing that they look at? The outside! We as individuals alway take in consideration the outside of an object. The outside of something is what grabs the attention of the individual before they actually go in and take a closer look, because sometimes the outside can make or break their decision to venture farther. The same thing can be said when it comes to people. Before a person actually introduces themselves to another person, they look at how the person looks. In most cases it can be seen as pretty shallow, but everyone has done it at one time or another whether they did it intentionally or not. It usually isn’t done because they think a person is not good looking, but it can sometimes be tied to the type of person someone is. In Meditations on the Soul, Ficino seems to allude to the outside of a person being like a window into the soul of an individual which in turn leads an individual to decide whether they will love that person or not.
Ficino starts his argument with a beautiful looking woman and a handsome man. He states that “you will love no one anywhere, you will admire no one, if you do not love and admire such a man as soon as you see him” (Ficino 4). This means that if you can not learn to love the good looking man and acknowledge that he is good looking then you won’t be able to love or appreciate anyone else. The handsome man in this scenario is the ideal for all men. He is the most fit and best looking man. In many ways he can somehow be alluded to God, because if God is perfect then we should have no problem with loving Him and following Him. Yet the world still has people that are not willing to love Him. Therefore how do they expect to love another human being, who is flawed and imperfect, if they are unable to love the perfect God. Without being able to love God, then they will not be able to know how to truly love another human being.
Ficino also states that “the body is the shadow of the soul” (Ficino 4). This means that the body is just like the exterior of a car. If the exterior of a car is new and well kept then the interior of the car will probably be the same. The same can be said for a person, according to Ficino. For example, if a person is fit, clean cut, and tall; then their soul should be as good as their outside appearance. Ficino alludes to this being the case, because as an individual you would think that if they are bettering themselves on the outside then they are doing the same thing on the inside.
A real life example of this can be seen in student-athletes. Many athletes are physically fit and have in most instances what is called the ideal body. They are cut up and workout multiple times a day: either by themselves or with their team. They also are bettering their minds in school which in turn grows their souls if they are doing what they are supposed to. Even though there are some exceptions, most of the athletes have to do well in school in order to play on the field, which in turn will make them grow their souls.
Even though there are plenty of exceptions to the outside of an object or person reflecting the inside, it rings true in so many aspects still. As a follower of Christ you are supposed to give off an approachable aura to yourself, so that others will feel comfortable coming up and talking to you about God. If your soul is inlined with what God is wanting from, then your exterior will reflect that. God would not allow for your soul to grow to love him and not allow for your exterior to show off your soul. In most cases the exterior gives away who you are as a person on the inside, which is not always a bad thing. Now that God has given us such a beautiful soul to look after and care for, each and every individual needs to allow for their souls to affect their exteriors so that they can truly become a window to the soul that is lying in wait underneath.
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