O My handmaid! Concern not thyself with that which is outwardly apparent; fix thy gaze, rather, upon that which lieth within. Look thou upon the beauty of God’s loved ones with His eye. Should one not be possessed of an attractive appearance, know thou that inwardly they possess a beauty that arouseth the envy of every beloved one. Physical beauty is loved by self and passion, while spiritual beauty is loved by God. Which, then, wouldst thou choose? That which the Beloved Himself would choose hath, assuredly, ever been and will ever be the desire of His loved ones… (Baha’u’llah)

The above passage is taken from a provisionally translated Tablet made available by Adib Masumian. (Many thanks to Adib!). Baha’u’llah counsels a woman to not be concerned about her outward beauty because it is inner beauty that only concerns God. The duckling picture makes a connection to the story of the Ugly Duckling by Han Christian Andersen in which a young duckling was picked on for his ugly appearance but then grew up to be a beautiful swan. 

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