A multitude of perceptions are imparted by this simple word beauty; a word tossed around these days in a vast array of application, a word wrangled by poets and philosophers for eons. A descriptive noun, initially alluding to the finer attributes of appearance; it has become a course of study, a specialty in healthcare with taproots into psychology. Whole careers, their prerequisites, their success or failure, can be determined by it. The quest for beauty is a driving force in consumerism and it’s used to sell a plethora of products ranging from cosmetics to cars. An indeterminable number of books, magazines, and publications address this phenomenon. Is beauty determined only in the eye of the beholder? Or, is it really outside of us altogether? Can beauty even be fully defined? Should defining it even be necessary? As it seems to have become such a driving force, an affection, in our culture, I’d say yes, the attempt should be made so I’ll give it a go.
From the instant we are born into this life, the demands of the body dominate our attention. We immediately feel many needs, such as hunger, the need to breathe, sleep, etc. it is due to the forcefulness of these impressions that we begin to consider the “real”, and to pay attention to them. Unless man is given some way to foster the consciousness of his spiritual nature, and hence to educate it and develop its capacities, he is living a “physical Life”. That is, his relationship to the world around him is based on physical terms, taking no account for the rules which govern the life of his spirit. Our spiritual nature, however, is our true reality, and it is this which defines who we actually are. The physical nature is simply a vehicle, even though it may make very real demands on our time.
Educating our spiritual nature into awareness is one of the goals of religion. Man has been created with a twofold nature. In one respect, he is a physical entity having attributes in common with the animal kingdom. But the real essence of his being is that he was created with an eternal nature, an immortal soul. It is in this respect that he bears a certain kinship with the divine, just as the Bible states that we were “created in the image of God”.
To me, beauty is an assemblage of grace, fragments of parts that combine to make the whole. To illustrate the concept, allow me to use that which seems to get the most attention, our face. Facial beauty can be enhanced, nurtured, and yes, molded, too. Though we’re born with certain features, proper diet, skin care, hairstyle, managed exposure to the elements, natural oils and herbs, cosmetics and cosmetic procedures all can enhance and nurture that face.
Beauty is nurtured by attitude, as well. It’s developing a sense of self-esteem and confidence and conveyed in the courage of convictions. It’s the bravery of walking tall, back straight, head held high, coupled with the humility to bend to a knee and wipe a tear from a child’s cheek or say you’re sorry for a misdeed. The ‘spirituality’ of beauty, is the essence of beauty that we get by accepting our own Divinity, that part of us that goes beyond ourselves into the “whole” of things. It’s the appreciation of what you truly are and that you play a part, but only a part, in the bigger scheme of things. It’s your gift, the stardust in you.
Human beings are born into this world with completely no knowledge. Due to our physical demands of our bodies, we perceive this life to be “real”. In fact, any understanding we may have of beauty, in any form, derives from our essential relationship with it: from our common nature.
Our first experience of the world is physical, and until we learn otherwise, we continue to relate to it physically. In this sense, we are drawn toward anything that is good, beautiful, fulfilling, according to our ability to perceive it. And since our vision at first depends mostly on our physical eyes, we pursue beauty where we can best find it physically.
The essential idea, however, is that even physical beauty is not purely physical. In fact, in the absence of a human mind to perceive it, I believe there would be no such thing as physical beauty. It would become merely light waves, or a combination of intensities of light. It is important to note that our eyes do not perceive beauty; it is what the soul experiences, according to what the eyes transmit, that we call beauty.
Thus the more involved the soul is in the act of perceiving, the greater its experience of beauty will be. If the soul looks at things with only physical eyes, it will see beauty only in physical objects. The goal is to free ourselves from the obstruction which intervenes between us and what we seek. I say “seek”, even though we may not be aware of it as seeking.
Man is always turned toward the heights, and his aspiration is lofty; he always desires to reach a greater world than the world in which he is, and to amount to a higher sphere than that in which he is. But animals want just the opposite. If they could achieve a mindless routine that would keep them well-fed and safe with perhaps an opportunity here and there for exercise, or whatever social urges that might feel the need to pursue, they would call that perfection.
We may discover beauty in the physical forms of other human beings, and then mistake these forms for beauty itself, and wind up organizing our lives around this one objective.
It is very difficult, without already possessing a knowledge of what beauty is in its essence, to go about finding it. Without the capacity to distinguish between what is truly beauty and what is merely a physical form reflecting beauty, we really can’t know whether we’ve taken a right step or not.
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