Do You Think You’re Beautiful?
If I was some random stranger and told you that you could be regarded as one of the most beautiful people on this planet, what would the first thoughts that come to your mind? Like most, you may consult a mirror, first, to confirm such a remark. I mean isn’t that the first thought that comes to your mind? If you had to search for “What is beauty?” you’d probably find the following definition, “a combination of qualities, such as shape, color, or form that pleases the aesthetic senses, especially the sight”. Did you also notice that those last three words stood out a bit more than the others? It seems that we have become a species so reliant on our ability to see beauty that we have forgotten how it feels. But what if you woke up one morning to discover that you were blind, how would you define beauty? Let us see if we can make sense of these questions.
Do not get me wrong, we both have moments where we admire the way something looks and consider it to be beautiful. And the beholder of such object automatically gains the title of “beautiful”. The best of cars, clothes, and looks. How often are you not impressed by such things? We live in a world where such objects are admired so much by the majority of people around us, that it becomes normal to admire it. I sometimes feel that these superficial attributes of a person are what fools us into believing something that is not there. But, if you had to think about it, the beauty that we are so accustomed to falling victim to, seems to be but a piece of bait that constantly grabs our attention whilst it dangles in front of you at the most random of times. It sometimes made me think that true beauty has been tainted by others attempting to quantify the beauty of superficial objects. This superficial beauty seems to be what initially attracts us to one another. It may be what makes you notice some person in a crowd. It becomes a captivating quality about a person that we may know nothing about. But how many times have you been fooled by these superficial qualities?
Honestly, this may seem like a weird way to come to such a conclusion, but who am I to question the methods by which one realizes something. I had grown up watching people be obsessed with physical beauty as if it were some sort of superpower that must be worshipped. Those that lacked this “talent” seemed to do their best to cover up with superficial commercialized necessities that perform the same role regardless of how well they are known. Clothes, makeup, cars and all other means by which we fool ourselves to believe that we are something more than what we actually are. We paint on confidence before we leave home only to dread wiping it off when we come back. We cover up who we are so that we can become someone regarded as being beautiful. Now that I think about it, what a miserable life this must be to pursue.
“Everything has its beauty, but not everyone sees it.” — Confucius
Like most things in my life, this was a glaring issue that was overlooked by ignorance and lack of attention. You see I used to notice a whole lot of people around me do what they can to preserve a perspective of beauty, which they so well regarded. Family, friends and just random strangers doing all that they can to feel beautiful so that they can be beautiful people. They needed something to give them permission to feel beautiful. Taking hours to dress up and spending days taking care of themselves. Digging themselves deep in debt just to purchase a commodity that may rescue them from who they actually are. But, something about all of this felt fake. It felt wrong. As if we were going against our nature to seem as if we are in touch with ourselves. Thinking about this helped me see that the beauty of a person can’t be quantified by the superficial qualities that we all are so impulsively attracted to. Rather the most beautiful of people are the ones that keep us captivated, who seem to do so without trying. It is an effortless pursuit that creates an everlasting impact. What I started to see was: staying beautiful depends on the way you make others feel. Let me explain this. You see, you could be one who selfishly exists as an ignorant human being or one who is considerate regardless of how they feel. I don’t know — it is a weird attraction that always stood out for me. Their very presence makes you feel your soul as they express every bit of theirs. It’s those that walk through the fires with a smile on their face convincing you that everything will be okay. They pick you up when you fall, even though they may have no strength. It is something that can’t be quantified or purchased. It is something felt and subconsciously willingly reciprocated like the smile between two strangers who may never meet again.
If you ever feel that you may not be someone who is beautiful, keep this in mind.
Beauty is not something that can be purchased
Like most commercialized commodities that can be purchased from a store, this is not something that can be quantified like in the case of an inanimate object. I do not wish to launch a rebellion against that which is used by most of us daily(like an organ). Rather this is to serve as a reminder that those objects that you purchase do not define you as a person. They are rather commodities used by you to create an impression of yourself. Any person can eventually do that, regardless of their background. But what makes you a beautiful person is your ability to be true to yourself. Your ability to uplift others around you. Your ability to be real with people in ways that cannot be quantified by objects and numbers. Don’t go out and look for beauty to cover up yourself with — because most people have turned this need into a business. Rather remember that the beauty that you seek is inside of you. Look long enough and you will discover it.
Beauty is relative for a reason
We all would love to be the only people in the world with a specific car or watch. I mean how special would you feel knowing that you were the only one who had a specific car or watch. But these are mass-produced items made solely to provide a commodity to people. That innate need to discover something unique for you is something that you must become. You must become your unique perspective of beauty. If you had to think about it, beauty is a very subjective term. What may be beautiful to me may not be the same for you and vice versa. So all those little things that you find to be beautiful in this world — become it. You may become a unique combination of everything that you find to be beautiful, isn’t that is what we all seek deep down? You may not understand the reason ever, but you have you be your own perspective of beauty. It is for you to keep and express in the manner that you so choose! Don’t expect to find this in a day, month or year. This is an endless pursuit, because you may always discover a new way to be beautiful!
Do not doubt more than necessary
I get it, I have those low moments too — where everything in life seems to no longer make sense. Where those crazy sad songs seem to do as they were intended to and validate all those terrible feelings inside of you. We all get to this point at some point in our lives and there is very little to do when this does happen. But like you would do for someone that you care about, you need to be strong for yourself. Let yourself be lost for a moment and before you lose your grip, grab on tight. Pick yourself up and discover a newfound strength inside of you. Grind your teeth, hit your head against the wall, but eventually, look in the mirror and smile as you see yourself up again. To be honest, too many of us stay down much longer than necessary and we tend to lose grip of what makes us beautiful. When this happens, you know what you need to do to believe in yourself again! Remember, when you feel yourself about to reach a low point, do not lose grip of what makes you beautiful. Hold on tight with all of you might!
“Whenever you are creating beauty around you, you are restoring your own soul.” — Alice Walker
Those things that you think you need to make you feel much more than you currently are — are but forms of procrastination that you willingly seek. Why should you only be someone of quality when you jump into a car or put on a watch? Do those objects define the person that you are? True beauty does not stem from the way that you look. This may just be us defining ourselves based on how insecure we may be. But true beauty stems from how you make others (as well as yourself) feel. Can you enter a dim spirited room and light it up brighter than the sun? Can you be a beacon of hope when all hope is lost? The need to impress another is something that we all feel at times. We, humans, are social beings, we exist with one another for one another. This may never be easy to admit but we all have some impact over one another. This, in turn, has an impact on ourselves. We may feel terrible after losing grip of ourselves and insulting another or we may feel great after choosing to hold tight when we feel our grip loosening. Every moment is a defining one. It is all up to us to capture them. If no one has ever told you this before, you do have beauty inside of you. I may not see all of it, but you do and that is your treasure to bear and share. Invest in your existence, discover your inexplicable beauty and take the world by storm as you express the splendor that is you.
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P.P.S. If you liked this piece, maybe you would also like some of my other pieces:
