"Sometimes there's so much beauty in the world I feel like I can't take it ... like my heart's going to cave in."- Ricky Fitts (American Beauty)
We spend almost as much money on making ourselves look beautiful as we spend on anything else. Hair products, makeup, clothing, skin care and so many other things that we believe contribute to making ourselves more attractive. Generally, we do it for the opposite sex. Men don't care if their buddies shave or wear nice clothes, just don't stink up the place. Soap is cheap.
Single people are especially sensitive to their outward appearance. We are constantly on the prowl, and we pretend that if we look our best and smell nice then those we are trying to attract will think that we are better than we really are. It's the game that we've been playing for as long as we've been playing. The rules change over time. Powdered wigs were replaced by fancy haircuts and mousse. Soap and running water must have made the world smell a lot better. Whenever I see a movie about the old West, I think, "Those people must really stink." Strange, I know, but true. Chances are, they didn't mind much, though. Everybody stank, and you probably stood out if you were freshly bathed.
It's probably why so many people got shot in those days.
We are told (mostly through advertising) that there are only a few truly beautiful people in the world. Fashion models, movie stars and game show hosts. Magazines make up lists of "The Most Eligible Bachelors", which is a thinly veiled way of saying "The Most Beautiful Single People With a Lot of Money". They have fooled us into thinking that beauty is what they tell us it is. But it isn't, really. Beauty is what we tell us it is. Mostly, it isn't even based on how we look.
The blogging experience has taught me a lot. Besides honing my writing skills and giving me something to do, it has given me insight into what people think. The anonymity of the blog gives us the ability to write things that we may not be willing to say out loud. It is cathartic in its way, and good for the mind, body and soul.
Few of us are secure in our looks, and sometimes even the most beautiful among us can be unsure of themselves. Outer beauty has as its limit, the potential for others to fail to see ones inner beauty. However, the opposite is also true. Inner beauty is often blocked by an outer appearance that is not classically beautiful. Only when we get to know the person is either condition resolved, for better or worse.
Here, on the blogs, we get a first-hand look at the inner beauty that our blogger buddies possess. They write of their life experiences, their feelings and their thoughts about issues facing them, either political or personal. The bonus comes when we are able to see them, and we find that the inner beauty is the compliment of their outer beauty. The best part of that realization is that we have come to love them for who they are first, and when the combination of all of those things manifests itself, we get a little glow because our faith in our judgment is realized. We can love people for both who they are and what they are.
Beauty, we find, truly does come from the inside, and work its way out. I've never considered it until now, but maybe this is a form of eroticism. If, as they say, our brain is our true sexual organ, then maybe the words work on us in such a way that we feel an emotional tie that can encourage other feelings. After all, many of us write things here that we have never expressed to even our closest friends. In some ways, we know more about each other than our spouses, friends or relatives.
Single people are especially sensitive to their outward appearance. We are constantly on the prowl, and we pretend that if we look our best and smell nice then those we are trying to attract will think that we are better than we really are. It's the game that we've been playing for as long as we've been playing. The rules change over time. Powdered wigs were replaced by fancy haircuts and mousse. Soap and running water must have made the world smell a lot better. Whenever I see a movie about the old West, I think, "Those people must really stink." Strange, I know, but true. Chances are, they didn't mind much, though. Everybody stank, and you probably stood out if you were freshly bathed.
It's probably why so many people got shot in those days.
We are told (mostly through advertising) that there are only a few truly beautiful people in the world. Fashion models, movie stars and game show hosts. Magazines make up lists of "The Most Eligible Bachelors", which is a thinly veiled way of saying "The Most Beautiful Single People With a Lot of Money". They have fooled us into thinking that beauty is what they tell us it is. But it isn't, really. Beauty is what we tell us it is. Mostly, it isn't even based on how we look.
The blogging experience has taught me a lot. Besides honing my writing skills and giving me something to do, it has given me insight into what people think. The anonymity of the blog gives us the ability to write things that we may not be willing to say out loud. It is cathartic in its way, and good for the mind, body and soul.
Few of us are secure in our looks, and sometimes even the most beautiful among us can be unsure of themselves. Outer beauty has as its limit, the potential for others to fail to see ones inner beauty. However, the opposite is also true. Inner beauty is often blocked by an outer appearance that is not classically beautiful. Only when we get to know the person is either condition resolved, for better or worse.
Here, on the blogs, we get a first-hand look at the inner beauty that our blogger buddies possess. They write of their life experiences, their feelings and their thoughts about issues facing them, either political or personal. The bonus comes when we are able to see them, and we find that the inner beauty is the compliment of their outer beauty. The best part of that realization is that we have come to love them for who they are first, and when the combination of all of those things manifests itself, we get a little glow because our faith in our judgment is realized. We can love people for both who they are and what they are.
Beauty, we find, truly does come from the inside, and work its way out. I've never considered it until now, but maybe this is a form of eroticism. If, as they say, our brain is our true sexual organ, then maybe the words work on us in such a way that we feel an emotional tie that can encourage other feelings. After all, many of us write things here that we have never expressed to even our closest friends. In some ways, we know more about each other than our spouses, friends or relatives.
There is beauty in expression, and the best part is, it doesn't need makeup or mousse to make it beautiful.
When our mind's eye sees
before the ones in our head,
we see true beauty.
before the ones in our head,
we see true beauty.
5 comments:
Great post Anthony!
i don't know if i agree with your graphic. even if you are beautiful, it doesn't make up for stupidity. ;)
speechless....yet again!! (you'd have to know me in person to know that almost never happens!).
This one's the best of your despair series. Definitely.
Wow...just Wow.
Bravo Anthony....Bravo.
i can attest to pam never being speechless. :) and that is why i love her so.
that's one of the reasons that make-up kara was sent packing. i started to realize that i wasn't spending two hours on hair and make-up every morning for myself, but rather, i was putting on a mask for others. it wasn't like anyone ever directly asked me to, mind you - but i felt it was my responsibility to society in some way to do so. everything i'd been exposed to up to my make-up wearing days (starting at age 14!!!)laid out some unspoken rule that women were to do such things to themselves to be socially acceptable...
great post!
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