Beauty & the Beast: Burying the Beast Within You!

In the fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, Beast is a handsome prince who, because of a curse, has been turned into a grotesque looking creature. The curse can only be lifted when he is finally loved as he is, regardless of his hideous appearance.

Beauty, a merchant’s daughter, is pure of heart, unselfish, giving, and loving.

Beauty’s father ends up at Beast’s house, but when Beast sees Dad stealing a rose, he gets very angry. The deal: Beauty moves in with Beast. We all know the story has a happy ending because Beauty falls in love with Beast, despite his appearance, and the curse is broken. So Beauty gets the handsome prince, and they live happily ever after.

As I thought about this story, I realized that we have both Beauty and Beast within us. We all have the potential for the beastly side to rear its ugly head at one point or another. When Beast is in command, we roar in anger, indulge in negative thinking, criticize ourselves, pick fights, withhold our love, and close our hearts. When Beauty is in the house, things are calm, kindness and generosity are the way, we are patient, and pamper ourselves lovingly.

So how can we bury the Beast within us? First we have to acknowledge that he’s in there, inside of us. Once we do, we have to STOP:

· Criticizing ourselves.

· Letting anger get the best of us.

· Shutting down our hearts.

· Attacking others with hurtful words.

It’s important that Beauty be in charge. This is not to say there’s never a place for Beast. In times of self-preservation, Beast may be useful. If we choose to live our lives as Beauty, however, our inner sanctum will be a place of peace. We’ll feel joy bubble up inside of us; we’ll have more energy, and people will want to be around us. Indulging Beast is giving up our precious energy; risking isolation, and feeling so badly we literally can’t stand to be in our own skin.

To bury Beast, all we have to do is love ourselves regardless of how we look, what we weigh, or our station in life. It’s unconditional.

Bury the Beast. Let Beauty rule. There’s only room for one in there. Choose wisely.