SEE: Beauty

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."

Shakespeare said is Love's Labours Lost, 1588:

"Beauty is bought by judgement of the eye, not utter'd by base sale of chapmen's tongues."

Benjamin Franklin wrote in Poor Richard's Almanack, 1741:

Beauty, like supreme dominion, is but supported by opinion.

Beauty.

It's quite a subjective term.

Over the course of human history, the idea of beauty has changed.

Even today, what constitutes "beauty" is different among countries, continents, regions, and religions.

Thank goodness it is.

But, as humans, are we so "brainwashed" with what is conventional beauty that we often fail to see the vast and wonderous thing that beauty really is?

What about nature?

Photo Credit:  Nacho Juarez

The first thing you notice is the flower with its vibrant hues, growing among the rocks.

But look how beautiful the rocks are.

A multitude of grays, pinks, whites, browns, blues, corals, blacks.

Rough and smooth edges, undulating and pitted.

At one time, parts of larger rocks.

Worn away and battled until they broke off.

Smaller, but still here, providing shelter and a subtle backdrop for the flower to grow and present itself in all its beauty.

Is your life more like the flower or like the rocks?

The flower has a limited life span, but the rocks...

Those rocks have seen and endured thousands of storms and assaults, yet they are still here.

What about human emotion?

Photo Credit: Kat Jayne

Emotions can be hard.

Especially the ones that make us cry.

But what are tears? 

They are saline.  

The natural form of moisture that cleanses without being abrasive.  

They wash away foreign substances in our eyes.

They express the deepest hurt and humiliation a human can experiences.

They can also express the greatest joy and love a human can experience as well.

Tears can "speak" a language that is universal.  

You can see tears of joy or tears of pain in the eyes of someone who does not speak your language.

Tears can make you cry, even without knowing why.

There's a beauty in the silent communication that tears speak.

What about spirituality?

Photo Credit: Rodolfo Clix

It doesn't matter your religion, or even if you don't participate in a structured religion.

Spirituality itself is a form of beauty.

There's beauty in traditions where songs and words come together to sing praises of joy and life.

Dimly lit rooms with a multitude of candles giving off a soft glowing light beckon the soul to come forward and observe.

The faithful prayers of people in a pose that represents a time of quiet solitude and speaking to their higher being.

The services, like beautiful dances, of familiar steps and phrases that give peace, hope, and comfort to those in need.

The solitude of sitting among nature, reverent in the creation of all that is around, below, and above you.

What about age?

Photo Credit: James Wheeler

As we age comes experience, wisdom, life lessons.

These can be looked at as a thing of beauty alone.

However, as we age, like anything, we also develop cracks, wrinkles, scars, a slow fading of what was once vibrant and new.

The beauty may no longer be on the visible surface but is still there beneath the life having already been lived.

Sometimes we try to cheat age with potions and procedures that may temporarily help us to look and feel more beautiful, but they are truly only on the surface.

We celebrate buildings, like old houses that have stood the test of time, as things of beauty.

We celebrate nature, like the Grand Canyon, that despite its age is still held in awe and wonder.

We celebrate thousands of years of history like it happened yesterday.

And yet...

We seldom celebrate aging, or for that matter even accept it, as beautiful, when it happens to every single one of us.

What about love?

Photo Credit:  Sharon McCutcheon

The greatest of all things that are beautiful is love.

Pure love.

The kind that stands the test of time.

The love a pet gives you - unadulterated, without question, adoring you kind of love.

The love another human may give you.

Be it romantic, familial, or friendship.

Those are truly beautiful things to see.

The love of someone who is dying, giving all they have to ease the pain and burden of those they love as they come to grips with the very real possibility of death.

Photo Credit:  Pixabay

There are beautiful things all around us.

We have to stop to appreciate the beauty beneath the surface.

We have to really SEE what is beautiful.

Otherwise, we miss the truth of human life, in all its glorious beauty.