Part 1 of a short blog series on Beauty
We have a very narrow definition of beauty.
Go ahead, take some time to think of things that are classically considered beautiful.
I bet your list looks something like:
Rainbows
Flowers
Sunsets
Colorful fall leaves
A mom and her baby
A handsome man or a beautiful woman
No doubt these are all beautiful things. But is there not also beauty in the rain before the rainbow?
My quest to find beauty everywhere has been lifelong, even before I knew how to express it. But never has the journey been harder than when I realized I had to look for it in myself, especially my physical self, though I had to apply this to my personality as well. It took a force of will and deep conviction to stop hating my body, to stop cursing my personality, and to start loving it.
And when I started loving who I am more, I realized that beauty for women is too narrowly defined. Isn’t it beautiful to have laugh lines? To have stretch marks? To have wrinkles?
Laugh lines show a life full of smiles and laughter; stretch marks show a body that grew and changed in different seasons, whether from great joy or sorrow or just normal everyday life; wrinkles can tell story after story of a life well lived. For me, and in particular, my weight gain, showed a happiness and contentment I have never experienced before. And isn’t that what is beautiful?
And if beauty for women is too narrowly defined, then maybe all beauty is too narrowly defined.
Rain
Weeds
Clouds
Naked trees
Grief
Imperfect bodies of all kinds
Nature and its ever changing and yet always the same cycle is beautiful. Change, dying in winter and rebirth in spring represent to us newness and excitement with each day and season, while also reassuring us with its consistency.
The tears of a grieving son, mother, friend are beautiful. They show the depth of emotion, of love, that is so raw and real - emotions that we so easily take for granted in our every day lives. It is the pain of grief that we have all felt, the pain that connects us together.
Humanity as real people, not as sex symbols or icons to idolize, is beautiful. Real people who have lived real lives, who have touched others, and their bodies that reflect the journey. Humanity in every form, not just one color, race, and shape, is part of the richness of who we are as people!
That is the broader definition of beauty that we need. That is beauty. And it can be found everywhere.