On Beauty

I'm addicted to beauty.

No, I don't mean that I'm kikay. (If anything, I think I need to learn how to be more feminine, ahehe!)

I mean, I conscientiously seek beauty. I go out of my way to collect great pictures, haunting pieces of music, exquisitely phrased sentences and beautiful thoughts carefully copied down in my diary.

I suppose that's partly why I took up Music in college, and had a blast. I was surrounded by beauty, day in and day out. I immersed myself in it for half a decade, honing my instrument (my voice) and discovering the infinite shades and degrees of beauty, whether in music, visual arts or theater arts. It made me even more sensitive to beauty than usual.

There is beauty in truth, and truth in beauty. But beauty can also deceive.

We live in a world that places far too much emphasis on physical looks. Sadly, not every beautiful form contains within an equally beautiful soul.

Possessing little physical beauty myself, I've often wondered what it must be like to be drop-dead gorgeous or strikingly handsome. They say good-looking people have things easier in life. But I suppose it's also challenging for them, when people see them and focus solely on their face or body. I know quite a few pretty ladies who tried to make themselves uglier just so they could experience less harassment on their daily commute.

The flesh withers. Body parts sag. Chins double and triple with age. The challenge is to age gracefully.

Instead of focusing on physical beauty, I really need to focus more on having a beautiful soul, a beautiful mind. Easier said than done, because part of being a girl is wanting to be pretty all the time. I need to keep reminding myself that beauty is not just about the long, straight hair, the flawless complexion, the hour glass figure. Beauty is in the inner grace with which a woman performs her daily tasks, with a gentle voice, a loving hand. There is beauty in a healthy body, regardless of how many pounds it needs to lose. There is beauty in the twinkle of the eyes, in an open mind and a caring heart. There is beauty in white hair, because it represents the crowning glory of wisdom earned through years of nurturing others.

We are all beautiful, because He made us so. And several authors (C.S. Lewis included) have written extensively about how God uses Beauty to draw us to Him. It is an indicator of our soul's divinity, of our longing for the Ultimate Beauty to be found in Paradise.

So at the end of the day... at the end of our lives... let us pray for the grace to leave our home, our office, our world a more beautiful place than when we first found it.

Have a beauty-full weekend!