What is beauty

“Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything that is beautiful.

Welcome it:

in every face

in every sky

in every flower” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

What is beauty?

Beauty 1. A quality that pleases or delights the senses or mind

“People put so much pressure on women to be beautiful. There’s always a new diet to follow, a new beauty product to use, but is that what really defines beauty?” I was immediately intrigued by the words that I had just heard and it was at that moment when I looked up from what I was doing and saw Jessica Simpson in full high definition. Normally I would have reached for the remote and quickly changed the channel in an act of defiance against another celebrity drama series. But instead, I listened intently as she spoke about her travels across the world in an effort to find out what makes women in different cultures feel beautiful. I found myself grabbing for the clicker not to escape this celeb’s “reality” but instead, in an attempt to ensure that I heard every word that was spoken. As I continued watching, clips from the upcoming series were shown and I unexpectedly began to experience a wide range of emotions; anger, compassion, curiosity. Once again I reached for the channel changer as my mind circled with questions and I powered off the tube. This was by no means an act of defiance. I needed a moment to listen to my own thoughts and to answer the questions that had plagued my brain.

What is beauty? So often we define beauty by physical appearance. A runway model, a sunset, a bed of blooming roses, a newly built house. We tend to manage all of our focus on its beautiful appearance as an object rather than the beauty that develops from it. What do I mean by this? Well let me try and explain. When we define things by their physical characteristics we lose sight of what is really important; the actual beauty of the person, place or thing. The physical characteristics may make certain objects appealing to the eye, however I would argue that it is the characteristic traits that truly make these things beautiful. For instance, although a runway model may make the heads turn on some people, others may not see the individual as attractive, but the physical appeal of the model is unimportant when compared to her personality traits. For she is kind-hearted, slow to anger, empathetic and a loving mother of two. If we were to ask her children what they thought the most beautiful thing about their mother was, do you think that they would refer to her eyes or to her heart? As the definition reads in the dictionary, a quality that pleases or delights the mind, I would have to believe that emotional appeal has to have more pleasures than any physical appeal.

When I see a summer sun set my instinctual thought is how beautiful the colors of the sky are, however the more I look at the fading beams and the vibrant colors of the clouds, I begin to have an emotional reaction. I envision the warm rays wrapped around my arms, and I see the glow of the night sky beginning to settle in and I am reminded of my childhood. The sun that beams down and embraces me evokes the image of my father squeezed in between me and my sister, arms around our little bodies, as we would watch the night fall away under the stars and count the airplanes that passed. For it is no longer the image of the setting sun that I find beauty in, for now it is the feelings that I am reminded of and the times that I shared and cherish.

“There are many things in life that will catch your eye. But very few that will capture your heart… pursue those.” – unknown Flowers are so easy on the eyes and they have a physical appeal because they are so pretty on the outside, however some people do not see flowers as beautiful for the reminders that flowers bring. For many flowers are a reminder of death and funerals, for others the absence of flowers is a painful reminder in itself and for some it’s the death of the flower that brings unhappiness. I however love flowers. The way they can bring light to a room that seemed so dark before with their vibrant colors, and unique shape. How the sweet smell of their pollen can remind you of a spring afternoon rain shower, but the thing that I love most about flowers is their symbolism. Flowers are given in times of sorrow to not only remember but remind that although you have lost someone there are many others that you still have, in times of happiness and celebration, in a show of affection and love and sometimes for nothing at all, and with each flower that is given or received it is a reminder of the beautiful love that has blossomed between the planter and the gardener.

So often we tend to define beauty by comparison. The ocean is more beautiful than the desert, their Range Rover is more beautiful than my 4-Runner, a butterfly is more beautiful than a moth, their mansion is more beautiful than my shack, but as the cliché saying goes… beauty is in the eye of the beholder. For beauty by comparison is all about your attitude and the way that you look at life. Do you see the glass half full, or the glass half empty? By comparing everything, you will find that there are many people who have bigger and better things than you do but you’ll also come to realize that there are many people who you have bigger and better things than. So it’s all about a matter of perspective. When I think about this, one of the thoughts that comes to mind, is when people say “If I won the lottery I would buy the house of my dreams.” What is the house of your dreams entail? Usually they say it would be a beautiful mansion, but as I pondered what the word beauty meant to me in means of comparison I thought about the house of my dreams and I realized the house of my dreams would be home. My dream home would be filled with the aroma of home cooking, and the sounds of laughter and the feeling of love. Friends and family would fill the rooms and the sounds of people at play would be the music heard throughout. My dream home would be just that, a beautiful place because it is a home. No matter the size or the standard, it’s a place that all that encounter it do not call it a house they call it a home. “May all who enter as guests leave our home as friends.” – unknown

So what is it that really defines beauty? Is it the products that we use to try and better ourselves, or the makeup that we use to cover our flaws, is it the body image that portrays us or the picture that is captured at a given moment, or is it more than all of that? Maybe beauty is something that is organic and real. Something that cannot only be seen by the naked eye but that can be felt my the bare soul. Something that appeals to the heart and to the mind. Something that delights the senses and enriches it’s appearance by all that it entails. Beauty cannot be defined by one definition for beauty is defined in many ways, by many views for many reasons. BEAUTY is found within

As the month of March slowly reaches its end remind those around you how beautiful they are and remember to find beauty in everything that surrounds you!

"I never saw an ugly thing in my life; for let the form of an object be what it may -- light, shade, and perspective will always make it beautiful." -- John Constable