There is a saying which goes: ‘Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder’. And this may be true for some, but I believe there is beauty all around and we’re simply another part of that beauty. This is a picture displaying the Northern

Lights on the Faro Island. The colors in this picture are breathtakingly beautiful.

 

Now look at this picture:


Just as beautiful. In a different way. But beauty without a doubt.

When I write of beauty I’m not writing of feminine beauty, but the beauty that’s within us all, no matter what sex we are, nor even what species. We are surrounded by beauty. If you, or somebody you know, struggles with the problem of how you ‘see’ yourself. Then imagine you as forming part of the beauty that surrounds us, not separate from it but part of it. Surround yourselves with beautiful things, reminding yourself always of what you’re a part of.

It’s a pity we’ve become obsessed with physical perfection as something we are entitled to. It feels to me something like chasing an ideal, something that doesn’t exist. It’s another absolute! And absolutes simply don’t exist. If we continue to chase it without learning from our mistake we are doomed to continue the chase indefinitely. Never achieving the beauty we seek simply because we’re looking in the wrong place and from the wrong state of mind.

Beauty is one of those intangibles in life. Oxford dictionary defines the word: intangible as: ‘difficult or impossible to define or understand’. If I asked 20 people to describe the beauty of those photos above, I would most likely get 20 different answers. Some positive some negative. That’s a practical example of how difficult it is to define or understand beauty.

I searched through many quotes before I found something that expresses the closest to what I feel beauty means.

So in the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson:

Things are pretty, graceful, rich, elegant, handsome, but, until they speak to the imagination, not yet beautiful. This is the reason why beauty is still escaping out of all analysis.

Beauty becomes beauty when it transforms us in some way or other – when it moves us from one state of being to another. When that happens we’ve witnessed beauty.

Okay so that’s my attempt to describe what ‘beauty’ is and have seen how difficult it is to ‘capture’ it seems to be elusive but we have a glimpse of it’s meaning, hopefully. But what practical effect does this have on our lives.
‘So what’. We say.
‘What has this to do with my life’?

I believe it is vitally important to have a sense of being part of a beautiful universe. Of being connected to something larger than us – a something which in itself is a thing of beauty.
For as long as we view ourselves in this way we cannot be a piece of machinery, we cannot be without an identity, we cannot be just a piece of rubbish.

We are connected to a beauty which is vast and wondrous. This is a remarkable way of looking at ourselves. It is a fantastic message to pass to our children as something they can believe in and trust. It’s a value system which lasts and is not based on a lie or a passing fashion fancy or fad. Nor is it based on the latest psychology to hit the best seller list.

Consider for a minute; Everything that is in our solar system, everything, from the stars above, to the plants in the ground, to you and me. All are made from the same matter. This is what connects us to the beauty of the universe. We’re all part of the same fabric, although different and each being unique individuals as are flowers, birds and all other living things. We’re all made from the same matter.

Isn’t that extraordinary?

Try expressing this sense of beauty in your everyday life. Preferably in a way in which you feel comfortable. For some people it may be through a sketch. Others may prefer words. Others may prefer clicking a photo. Whatever way feels comfortable for you just try. See how it makes you feel, if you enjoy it then try sharing with other people close to you. Get inspired. Release your imagination. Liberate your mind.

Good luck.