Fashion versus beauty

When I go to work, I always pass through a mall, because the train station is at the end of the mall. Each morning, I notice that the shop windows show different clothing. As the seasons change, so do the styles of clothing on display—whatever is trendy at the moment.

Sometimes I smile as I walk past, because I know that some of the very stylish items I have seen in the windows before, decades ago—the necklines, the hemlines, the waistlines—they just move up and down, left and right. I have come to realize that, if one lives long enough, one will see that there is nothing new under the sun. Things may reappear somewhat differently but, by and large, they are not new things.

There was a time when I subscribed to National Geographic. I still vividly remember one particular feature. A photographer, writing about the wild animals he had shot, asked what could possibly be more beautiful than the natural look of these wild animals. One picture I remember was that of a big elephant. The photographer called it beautiful. I like elephants, but I have never considered “beautiful” as the word to describe them. His remark gave a new definition to “beauty” in my personal dictionary.

Yes, the elephant was more beautiful than the somewhat expensive clothing one may acquire over the years—dresses, handbags, shoes and all sorts of accessories. And such beauty is always there; it does not go out of fashion.

For Reflections on Nursing Leadership (RNL), published by the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International.

Communal culture

I was early for my Geopark* trip with my friends. So there I was, sitting in a bakery and coffee shop in Sai Kung that opens early. Knowing I would be early, because I didn’t want to miss this hiking and boat trip that I had been so looking forward to, I had brought a book with me to read, but I never got a chance to read it.

The bakery is right outside a public pavilion where people gather for various reasons, or no particular reason at all. I was fascinated by the people traffic. I couldn’t take my eyes off the place. I saw older men and women, some with Filipino maids, using this public space as their social meeting place. Whereas young people use online social media, seniors use these physical spaces to stay connected.

I recalled the pictures I have taken of seniors gathering in public places. Then, suddenly, it dawned on me: This could be one of the major differences between aging in the East as opposed to the West.

Where in American and European cities would you find scenes such as those shown in these pictures? I would say that these are cultural manifestations of aging, differences between a collective-oriented culture versus an individualistic culture.

*The Geoparks initiative was launched by UNESCO to recognize and preserve sites of significant earth science interest.

For Reflections on Nursing Leadership (RNL), published by the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International.