by Mary Scifres
Any transformation, seismic or otherwise, begins with a choice to let in the light. But this choice is no more predictable than it is likely. We see this throughout the gospels. Jesus plants seeds of hope and shines God’s light of love, offering nourishment with each encounter, but some people and communities choose to embrace growth and transformation, while others do not. Most Pharisees reject his teachings and resist his leadership, but a Pharisee named Nicodemus so longs to feel the warmth of Jesus’ light that he sneaks out at night to question Jesus over what it means to receive the life-giving transformation he offers. Making a different choice than his colleagues, Nicodemus is so transformed by his journey with Jesus that he follows him until the bitter end, tending Jesus’ body and laying him in the tomb.
In another transformative account, a woman with an issue of blood for much of her life chooses to literally reach out to Jesus for help—touching the hem of Jesus’ robe as he passes by in a crowd. Feeling power flow from him and perceiving the woman’s faith, Jesus stops to bless and fully heal her. The life-giving change she receives is as transformative for her as Beast’s resurrection-transformation is for him. By choosing to reach out for healing, this woman is restored to fullness of life in her own transformation story. In a society where menstrual bleeding is deemed unclean and ugly, this woman is once more beautifully free to participate in her community.
Contrast her choice to reach out to Jesus for healing with Judas’ choice to take his own life after betraying Jesus to the religious authorities. When Judas regrets his betrayal, rather than reaching back to Jesus—who has received, welcomed, forgiven, and healed so many—Judas chooses to run away and commit suicide. By choosing death, Judas creates his own tragic ending—an ending that might have resulted in life-giving transformation had he simply chosen to embrace the very one who had healed, forgiven, and transformed so many lives before Judas’ very eyes.
Tool 2: An Open Mind
The second tool to aid our journeys toward transformation is an open mind—a mind ready to embrace new perspectives along the way. As our perspectives expand and open, our paradigms will change. The foundation underlying our growth may even shift. When Beast almost dies saving Belle from the wolves, her perception of him changes. Perhaps he is someone worth getting to know after all. As Beast befriends this beautiful young woman in his castle, his perception of her expands as well, causing a resulting shift in his perspective on peasants from the village. As these changes invite new perceptions and new ways of viewing his future, Beast grows ever more hopeful, playful, and happy. His lament and despair melt away under the warmth of friendship and joy.
Likewise, Maurice’s prejudice against Beast is turned upside down when he hears his daughter’s tale of Beast’s new-found kindness and gentleness. And when the townsfolk imprison Maurice and Belle, he is surprised to find that a dark and enchanted castle may be a far safer place for his daughter than his familiar village. As Maurice’s perspective on safety and fear change, he begins to perceive the beauty and possibilities that Beast and his enchanted community present for Belle’s life. From the vantage points of new perspectives, each party is able to see beyond appearances to the beauty that lies within. Only with an open mind can our perspectives embrace the truth that there is beauty within each person. Only with the eyes of our heart enlightened can we perceive the divine light within each of us yearning to shine forth—for we are all created in the image of the Divine.
Tool 3: Awareness
The third tool to aid our journeys toward transformation is awareness. By raising our awareness, we begin to perceive things we haven’t noticed before. When we consciously take note of what we are noticing, our perception grows and expands. Awareness reveals new paths and new insights to help us determine our direction. This expanded perception becomes a compass to help us chart our way. As Belle and Beast walk together, play together, read together, and even dine together, Belle begins to see that Beast is not so beastly after all. There is sweetness and kindness within him that she has not perceived before. Belle is even able to perceive affinities they share, like good literature and dancing. Even when she views Beast howling in the enchanted mirror near the end of the film, Belle is no longer frightened by what she sees. She is able to perceive grief and loss in the sweet face of a friend, rather than fear and anger in the face of a beast.
Beast’s awareness has been growing and expanding alongside Belle’s. He notices Belle’s friendly gestures and recognizes her playful nature, enticing him to engage in snowball fights and literary debates. With new-found hope and receptivity, Beast hears the encouragement and guidance of his servants, receiving their advice and smiling broadly as each step forward brings him one step closer to Belle. In the 2017 film, Beast realizes he has misjudged the enchantress’ motive in giving him a magic book that allows him to go anywhere in the world. Since he will be certainly feared and hunted anywhere he might go, Beast thinks the gift is exceedingly cruel; but to Belle, it is a treasure beyond price. For through it, she is able to discover the mystery of her mother’s death in far off Paris. With clearer perceptions and heightened awareness, Belle and Beast are free to move toward loving transformation.
Where we place our attention often determines what we see and where we take our next step. If awareness is perception’s first role, interpretation is its second role, and flows from it. How we interpret what we perceive greatly influences the direction we travel. If we perceive possibilities, we are likely to take risks, choose unknown paths, and embark on new adventures. But if we perceive only roadblocks, we may stop or even turn back. We may miss alternate paths, or a chance to clear the road. If, as we look deeply into things, we perceive beauty and life and love, we are drawn farther along the path of life-giving transformation. But if we perceive only entanglement and disappointment, we are likely to miss the opportunity to untangle the situation or weave it into a rope to guide us back to the path of growth and expansion. When we clearly perceive the light that is there to guide us, we see the beauty that is within and around us. On the other hand, when we focus on the shadows that obscure our vision and sap our vitality and strength, we often miss the opportunities for resurrection yet to be revealed. When awareness leads us to follow the light, our expanded perception directs our steps forward.
Tool 4: Hope
The fourth tool to aid our journeys toward transformation is hope. In the midst of life’s trials and tribulations, our ability to muster hope has a huge impact on whether we embrace growth or not. Will we embrace the possibilities these trials and tribulations bring, or will our suffering make us angry and resentful? Either way, we end up feeding one of the two wolves within. Will we feed our fears and anger? Or will we feed our hope, forgiveness and compassion? Which eyes will we look through as we gaze at our lives and our world? Will we look with the eyes of love and hope? Or will we look with the eyes of distrust and doubt? Will we see creative new opportunities inviting us into a limitless future, or will we see only lost chances pulling us into a prison of “what ifs”?
While Beast focuses on lament and desolation, his castle falls into deeper darkness and destruction. As our story begins, Beast is stuck in his dark, crumbling castle. Trapped in the prison of his mind and the closed doors of his heart, Beast has lost all hope for himself and for his castle community. The only motion forward he can see is toward death and despair. But as Belle forces open the doors to Beast’s heart, her contagious optimism and creative imagination bring hope to the castle. As Beast cautiously embraces this gift of hope, he moves outside the walled off world of self-absorption to embrace the beauty that awaits. Inspired by Belle’s enthusiasm and joyous outlook, Beast is drawn into playful adventures in the snow, long afternoons pouring over books, and experimental evenings at the dinner table. Anger and temper turn to wry wit and humor, as Beast and Belle tease each other and laugh together, discovering joy’s power to nourish hope and optimism.
Tool 5: Self-Giving Love
The fifth tool to a
id our journeys toward transformation is self-giving love. This tool is necessary if we are to reach our highest levels of transformation. As we give of ourselves, a deeper path is cleared and we enter new levels of being and becoming. In our fairy tale, self-giving love both initiates and profoundly strengthens Belle and Beast’s journeys toward transformation. Belle begins this journey by leaving home in order to save her father; Beast begins it when he risks his life to save Belle. As they offer and receive help from each other and from other members of the castle, their giving natures expand and their lives are united in the bonds of love. Each new moment of selflessness plants another seed of transformation in their lives.
When Jesus speaks of eternal life and the kingdom of God, he is not just or even primarily talking about heaven. He is speaking about the inner transformation that comes through self-giving love: “Sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”[91] Give to everyone, care for others, lay down your life for your friends, and love your enemies. For in these acts we sow and water seeds of transformation within the gardens of our hearts and souls. Add the fertilizer of gratitude, then sit back and watch the garden explode with new growth.
Tool 6: Gratitude
This brings us to the sixth tool to aid our journeys toward transformation: gratitude. As Belle and Beast begin expressing gratitude and offering small kindnesses to one another, their friendship blossoms. Their ability to both give and receive love and friendship begins to bloom. As we reach upward with gratitude and reach outward with self-giving love, the divine spark within ignites our souls and moves us toward life-giving transformation. In this movement of gratitude, we not only bond with those who receive our love, we bond with God and reflect the image of God within.
Moving forward in gratitude makes our journeys toward transformation clearer and easier to navigate. “Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low,” proclaims the prophet Isaiah. “The rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.”[92] Gratitude smooths our path, drawing us ever closer to the life-giving transformation we seek and to the One who creates us for the fullness of life we discover on our journeys toward transformation.
Tool 7: Friendship
The seventh tool to aid our journeys toward transformation is friendship. As our bonds with both God and community grow, our journeys are supported by the love of friendship—a love with a power all its own.
As we have seen, misfortune alone cannot create life-giving transformation. How we respond to the tragedies and challenges of life determines the path we follow. For misfortune to sow seeds of life-giving transformation, we need the nourishment and strength of friendship. True friends are a blessing, for they shine light on our darkest journeys and unveil hope in our deepest despair. Even this blessing of friendship and community is sometimes not enough. Despite the castle servants’ best efforts to reach the seeds of transformation buried in Beast’s heart, he shields himself from the light of their love and sinks back into the listless despair and self-absorption that defined his life before the spell. It is not until Belle’s arrival that Beast drops his shields, allowing a ray of light and a burst of energy to nourish the seeds of transformation lying within. As friendship grows, so do the seeds of transformation that have been planted in Beast’s life. Seeds, soil, people, and relationships—in the midst of misfortune, all four elements are required to call forth a process of life-giving growth and transformation.
This tool of friendship becomes one of the most nourishing aspects of our growth toward transformation. The transformative friendship between Belle and Beast is further strengthened by their castle friendships. The servants-turned-enchanted-objects share wise advice, offer loving support, and provide them with an ever-hopeful perspective. Maurice, Cogsworth, Lumiere, Mrs. Potts, and even Chip are important friends and guides along Beast’s and Belle’s long, winding journey toward transformation.
Though these servants yearn for their own transformation every bit as much as they long for their master’s, their offers of friendship are not selfishly motivated; they flow from the core of their being. Faux friendships have no more power to aid our journeys toward transformation than does a kiss from a prince who only seeks a princess’ hand to gain a kingdom. All love is holy, and God will not be mocked. While the love of friendship may not be as powerful as unconditional love, it is certainly as powerful as romantic or erotic love. As friendship blooms between Belle and Beast, new life emerges, hope springs forth, and love begins to blossom. Only through the powerful love of friendship can transformation reach everyone in the castle.
This community of loving friendship works alongside our own powers of perspective and perception, calling us to give lovingly, generously, and even sacrificially. For friends help till the soil in the gardens of our hearts, calling forth life from the seeds that are blooming on our journeys toward transformation.
Tool 8: A Spirit-Guide
The last tool to aid our journeys toward transformation is a spirit-guide to help us on our way. Throughout history, spirit-guides have had many names and taken many forms: Christians call on Jesus, saints, and angels; Jews look to Sophia or the Ruach Yahweh; Muslims submit to the will of Allah; tribal and native peoples call on their ancestors, animal guides and spirit-helpers for help; while fairy tales look to fairy godmothers, wizards, or enchantresses to lead the way.
Spirit-guides should not be confused with the universe’s pull toward transformation. The latter is an impersonal force like gravity, while the former is intensely personal and interested in our individual journeys toward transformation. In the 2017 version of Beauty and the Beast, the enchantress Agathe is this spirit-guide. After casting the spell on the castle, Agathe remains nearby in the woods as a peripheral member of the village community. Agathe is always watching, perhaps even protecting, but seldom intervening. But when she intervenes, it’s magical—much like people’s experiences of God![93] It seems Agathe is the one who sends Maurice to the castle, as he wanders lost and frightened in the woods. Perhaps she knows that Beast’s time is coming to a close, and another dramatic intervention is necessary if his journey toward transformation is to move forward. When all hope seems lost as the last petal falls before Belle confesses her love to her beloved Beast, Agathe returns to the castle. Compassion and power emanating from within, Agathe sweeps the lifeless petals back into a rose shimmering with new life. This life heeds the love Belle confesses to Beast, calling him back from death and transforming him into the prince he has long since become on the inside.
Keep Moving Forward
The universe pulls us forward, yearning for our transformation. Spirit-guides eagerly await the opportunity to help us move forward in life-giving ways. But ultimately, whether we move forward or stay stuck in the past is a choice we all must make for ourselves. Walt Disney knew this well, and is famous for saying: “We keep moving forward.”[94] With her curious nature and pursuit of new adventures, Belle personifies this quote, as does Jesus. Neither Jesus nor Belle is satisfied with just one act of service or one life lesson. They do not rest in one place for very long, nor do they wallow in the ugliness of past troubles or present danger. Both face difficulties with faith and hope, persistence and even stubbornness. They expect as much or more from themselves as they do from others. Always moving forward, they continue on the journey, living the lessons they have learned, even as they embrace new lessons along the way. Keep moving forward. This is a handy habit on the journey toward transformation.
Beauty and the Beast is a story calling us to move toward the life-giving transformation that changes people, communities, and even the world. This is the gospel Jesus embodies and the good news he proclaims. Read any of the gospels, and you will discover that Jesus never stays in one place for long, for there are always more lessons to teach and learn, more people to heal and love, and more opportunities to grow and encourage others. Jesus doesn’t just preach against injustice and hypocrisy; h
e resists injustice and challenges us to be justice-seekers and instruments of love and compassion. Jesus doesn’t just talk about a utopian future where we will eat pie in the sky in the sweet bye and bye after we die; Jesus shows us the kingdom of God—a realm that is in our very midst when we feed the hungry, heal the sick, clothe the naked, visit the sick and imprisoned, welcome the stranger, and love the outcast. Jesus doesn’t just heal people; he comes to us with unbridled optimism, encouraging us to become our very best selves.
In every word, every act, every lesson, Jesus measures himself against the very law of love that defines his life and ministry. He exemplifies the loving transformation that lies at the heart of the gospels. Jesus is always moving forward to the next act of service, the next opportunity to teach and to learn, the next life-changing encounter. Even when forward movement threatens his very life, Jesus never turns aside, continuing to offer grace to others until the very end. Hanging from the cross, Jesus offers forgiveness to those who condemned him to die, and saving grace to a repentant thief who hangs dying alongside him.
Belle, too, isn’t satisfied with saving her father, reveling in her beautiful new palace bedroom, or exulting in the scrumptious meals Beast’s servants provide. She has more worlds to explore, more friends to encounter, and more lessons to learn and teach. Even when she has the opportunity to escape Beast in the forest and head home to her father, this action would surely condemn Beast to death and is something that she simply cannot do. Returning to the castle in order to save and care for Beast, Belle seeks to help Beast and his servants overcome the spell on the castle. Settling into her new life, she teaches Beast to befriend animals, appreciate good books, and perceive the beauty of his castle grounds. As Belle comes to know her new friends in the castle, she brings love and joy to each encounter with enchanted servants and newly reformed Beast. The more Belle opens herself to the magic and mystery of the castle, the more expansive her heart, soul, and mind become. The more Belle grows, the more she is moved to help Beast experience this growth for himself.