What makes someone beautiful?
If you look closely enough, can you find beauty in any face?
I've been thinking about how much effort individuals pour into their appearances. I was thinking about how we fool ourselves into thinking that we need all of these things/products to be beautiful, and if someone else finds us beautiful, we will be happy.
I'm using "we" here as a general inclusive term. You may not agree with these sentiments.
I don't find anything wrong with wanting to be beautiful. I feel it myself. Some days I am happy with my appearance, other days... not so much. I think all this is natural.
I just dislike when I see people discount their unique God-given beauty because it doesn't conform to cultural standards. I dislike when people fight aging with drastic measures. When young women go through surgery to change their bodies. I dislike when 'how someone looks' determines how they're treated, how they feel about themselves, how they treat others, how they treat themselves.
I understand the feelings, but I just wish we didn't get so caught up in chasing beauty. I don't know if I'm even articulating my feelings properly. It's a big issue that ties into larger, cultural processes. I'm just trying to work it out. At the risk of sounding cheesy, I truly believe that everyone has beauty in them. I just think that we have a warped way of understanding and recognizing beauty. Of seeing and valuing beauty --in others, in ourselves.
You always bring up great topics! I love thinking about these things. I have two thoughts after reading your post:
ReplyDelete1) Culturally speaking, some people don't see putting on make-up and fancy clothes as a way of being beautiful. I think it can be seen under this rationale: If you take care of your body (by going through the hassle to put on the make-up and good clothes and are fit and look good) then you will take care of other things (i.e. be responsible, hard working, dependable, etc). If you're a slob, then chances are you will be a slob about other things as well. I don't agree with this sort of thinking, but I have heard it argued for.
2) I don't think everyone is beautiful, and not in a superficial way, but as a reflection of our personalities. As infants and toddlers I think we are all beautiful, but eventually that fades as we choose to do mean things, be spiteful, or bitter, or angry. Whether redemption is possible - for some people yes, for others no. And that's not to say that we can't all have our "ugly" moments, I think that's natural and for some people, a constant (if not persistant) struggle. But for others, I think they give themselves up to it, and become and remain ugly for their entire lives. It's like how you perceive people you don't like as ugly and people you like become beautiful.
Interesting thoughts. Though I do have to argue that I think redemption is possible for everyone- but that not everyone chooses it. I suppose in some philosophical sense you could argue that in their not choosing it, it is impossible for them. However, I like to think that everything is possible and that it is our own perceptions and free will holding us back sometimes!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments. It's a tough issue to tackle since there are a lot of points tied into larger discussions about society, beauty, redemption...
ReplyDeleteI will say this:
I agree with most of these sentiments about inner beauty determining "true beauty" regardless of more superficial measures of beauty. Like anon. I don’t like to think that anyone is past redemption, but our choices do determine whether we choose redemption and some people do not and will not - sad as it is. I still think that there is a spark of potential (true) beauty in everyone. We are, after all, created in God’s image.
On a lighter note, point 1 above made me think of a sign I saw on a bench that read: "Looking good is not vanity, it's a courtesy". It made me laugh.