“Tall and tan and young and lovely,
The girl from Ipanema goes walking,
And when she passes,
Each one she passes,
Goes ‘A-a-ah…'”
The other day I passed a woman walking to the beach as I was driving through town. I only saw her from the back but there was something in the way she carried herself that just made you stop and go “A-a-ah!”
I have a friend, who in a similar situation took his eye off the road long enough to admire and also run into the car in front of him that had stopped suddenly. He blamed his accident on lust, but I’m not so sure. Blame it on not paying attention to the road, but don’t blame it on noticing an “A-a-ah!” that God created as a thing of beauty.
I’ve always liked this Brazilian bossa nova song that has everyone admiring the passing beauty – young, old, male, female – it doesn’t matter, they all go “A-a-ah!”. Beauty is what it is, and if you have a problem with it, you need to take it up with the Creator. He “fashioned” woman (as opposed to creating” man) and I’m sure he had a good time doing it. He probably goes “A-a-ah!” himself, a billion times a day.
I wonder if Christian men, for fear of lust, have destroyed their ability to appreciate and enjoy beauty. Beauty and truth are two sides of the same coin. We need them both to understand God and appreciate life. All truth and no beauty makes Jack a dull boy.
My wife brings beauty wherever we are. She has created it in our house so that wherever you look you see something beautiful. She spends a good deal of time each day maximizing her own beauty, whether she is going out of the house or not, and when she is done, you can only go “A-a-ah!”
When she moves it’s like a samba
That swings so cool and sways so gently…
So guys, if you catch that sway and it takes your eye off the road long enough to ram someone’s bumper, blame it on the “A-a-ah!”, blame it on the bossa nova, but don’t blame it on lust. It was just a thing of beauty, and good for you for noticing.
John Fischer The Catch 
I can’t re-cap what you said. You said it! I believe that the ‘zing!’ we humans feel when we see a fellow human who hits us as beautiful is a gift from God. I have a friend who believes it’s sin. I pray for him and feel sad for him. I always tell God “Thank You!” when I see someone like the somba queen. Ah-ha indeed, and Amen.
This is a loaded sharing today, John, that most guys won’t understand; because we’ve seen women as objects of lust for so long (many of us since adolescence) that most of us don’t know how to separate beauty from lust. We don’t know how to look at God’s creation with childlike wonder because we have lived in the world of dog-eat-dog greed and lust for so long. We can admire the beauty of a horse or a flower without lusting; why not a person? Women seem to be able to do that, why not guys?
I’m really glad you shared this. It was encouraging. And I LOVE that song.
You’ve opened a can of worms here John, but good for you! As a woman, I appreciate my eye being “caught” by a well-put-together man as well. I remember recently seeing a man in the bank in pressed jeans & a nice white shirt….understated, but a class act all the way around….it impressed me & I appreciated the opportunity to witness it in passing. AND (okay ladies, can we admit to this?) I smile to myself when I see that rare, natural bossa nova too. There are just some gals that pull that off in a way that others of us can only dream of. It IS a thing of beauty! Why can’t we all admire the God-given beauty in each other without getting all weird about it? Who knows how “beautiful” we’d all become if that were encouraged & nurtured more. It’s a shame that some of us have been taught to totally bury our beauty under the cloak of modesty so as not to cause another to “sin”….like we can control that! As is with most issues, balance is the key. Oh that us humans could find balance!!!! Okay…..I’m going to go out there & be beautiful today…..
You go, girl!
Interesting observation. One that I believe as Christians we often avoid for fear of appearing lustful. A thing of beauty can be appreciated just for being beautiful without an inkling of lust. As a society, however, that point has been corroided. Beauty is everywhere and God wants us to stop and appreciate His wonderful creation with pure hearts and mind. Thanks John for reminding us of that!
Well said John! I’ve often thought that myself. The beauty of God’s creation does not stop at the flowers or animals. Humans can be quite beautiful as well. We just have to be mindful of our mind (lol) and not let it get carried away. Balance and being grounded is the key.
I was once in a bakery shop buying rolls for dinner when a remarkably beautiful woman came in. Every eye in the place followed her. An elderly gentleman was at the till when she was and he told her, “A poet has written that no one’s day is complete until they have beheld beauty. Thank you for making my day.” From the way she beamed it was clear that he had also made her day.
I had to reflect on the fact that if a younger man had said the same thing, the comment may well have been taken as a “come on” rather than a compliment. The old man said what the rest of us were thinking.