I read a lot of history, both actual history and historically researched novels.
One thing that always strikes me is that when people‘s appearances are described, there is always one feature that is commented upon, and celebrated.
He may have had unusually dark eyes, or her hair may have have a glint of chestnut.
In today’s world, we see each other through media goggles and there has been a homogenizing of beauty. I find this rather sad.
The idea of beauty being personal rings true to me. Not one of us are just like any other.
In my day to day life, when I interact with people I enjoy looking for that individual beauty. That unusual eye color, the lilt in a voice, the sparkle in a laugh, or the ease in a movement. These are things that posed and airbrushed photos not only don’t show but literally erase.
And then I hear of young women who in themselves have so much beauty in life, bemoaning that they don’t look all the same in essence. And so yes, this is another one of those articles that is going to ask you to just be you. But I’m going to come about it a different way.
We all may have noticed that it is difficult to change our perception of self. It has been built by long years of self talk, interpreting other peoples words and actions rightly or wrongly, and of course the ever present torrent of fairly horrible media messages.
So instead of asking you to love yourself, I am going to ask you to look for beauty in your neighbor. The next time you’re ordering that cup of coffee, checking out at the grocery store, or signing in at the gym, look at that person behind the desk or counter. What is there? Are they telling you of their great love of wombats? How extraordinary! Or does the inner curve of their eyelid look lavender instead of pink? What a small miracle to behold. And I don’t mean this facetiously. I find great joy in the small beauty of life. It is so enjoyable to look beyond the preconceived notions, pretension, and yes, unpleasantness, to see the unexpected small beauty that is all around us.
It is an opportunity to love more. To see deeper.
Advanced technique – look for the beauty in people you don’t like.
Comments