Yes, I spelled “foreword” in my book forward.
Let me explain.
For starters I concede that the appropriate spelling is "foreword" when used in a book. If you Google "how to spell foreword for a book” it tells you that many people misspell foreword. It is before the word and is usually written by someone other than the author.
Here are my thoughts on why we did it differently:
1. When we wrote the book we really saw it more as a manual. One for the individual to navigate life in their own attractiveness. A “how-to” of sorts; but the “how-to” is how to be me in this big world where the individual is the author of it. Therefore the forward is my thoughts to the author of life "you."
2. I really do want you to move forward, and my hope is that learning about your authentic self will move you forward. When Rod and I meet with people there are a large number of them that dispute how beautiful I see them; they are stuck because they just can’t quite see it for themselves. Our message—whether you read it in our book, view it on the website, or attend a live class—is still the same. Everyone is a masterpiece and it is time to move forward in that.
So read it again (the text is below). This is truly how I see the world. Put yourself in that lane and move forward in your authentic way.
Everyone is a masterpiece.
Brook
Human Art: Understanding Your Own Personal Design by Brook and Rod Thornley, “Forward”, pg. 7
“As I walk through a museum of fine art, I enter each room anticipating the beauty I know I’ll encounter there. I feel a tingle of excitement. Which piece of art will I love? Which will I appreciate? Will I see some that I won’t understand? As I am strolling by each piece, I realize that the great thing about art is that it’s a personal experience. People choose the pieces that speak to them on an emotional level. I wonder what piece, in each room I enter, will speak to me. When I find it, I know the lines and color of the piece will communicate what I need emotionally. My response will resonate deep inside me.
For some reason we have forgotten to look at each human being in this same way. People are masterpieces that we come upon or experience in life as if we are entering their space in a museum. They touch us on an emotional level. The lines and colors in their bodies—their unique compositions—communicate to us. Have we forgotten to look at them with the same open eyes that we have when we pass through the doors of an art museum? Do we feel the anticipation of finding that connection deep inside in response to each person’s own beauty? Or have we learned in some way to pass by and discount them in a search for that ultimate personification of “beauty”—as if all humans were pieces in an exhibit, but only one truly great piece of art existed? We need to open our eyes to see the art and beauty in every human being. We are each truly unique, a masterpiece. We are all imprints of many frequencies, and we leave that emotional imprint of our beauty wherever we go. No one will ever experience anything just like us again.
When I see someone new, perhaps I’ll love and appreciate her beauty. Or maybe I just won’t understand it. I am not alone. Most of us don’t understand the beauty we find in others. We don’t recognize the masterpieces we encounter each day. We lack the information, skills or rules to interpret them. We don’t know their “equations.” Just as solving math or chemistry problems is impossible without understanding the rules, in art—especially Human Art—we as a society have reached a point of discounting what we can’t comprehend merely because we lack the tools and rules to do so.
I love walking through the “exhibit” of life! I relish observing this beautiful world and these intriguing pieces of art—humans—that I encounter daily. Using the “rules,” or the science of color and line, I am able to grasp people’s beauty in a way that extends far beyond the physical surface. My experience of your beauty starts the moment I first get a glimpse of you. Your communication, the lines in your nose, the way you walk, the way you talk, the way you process your information, are all pieces of the equation, and I start summing them up, emotionally. Without fail, each time I say, “Yes, this is the piece for me!” You touch me at that level because, unlike a painting or a piece of pottery, you are alive, and you use your “equation”—your beauty, talents and strengths—to act and interact with me. I’ve yet to find the sculpture that can do that. Understanding the right rules and using the right tools to unlock the mystery of human composition has enabled me to stand back in reverential, open-mouthed awe as I contemplate the greatest beauty of all: you.”