“Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder.” As accurate as it sounds, it is still very subjective in its own way. Beauty is something that is termed differently for different people and can generate different images of self and others too. In all honesty, your perspective towards it is key. It is the “perception of beauty” that lies in the eyes of the beholder. The way you look at things is what defines you and the way YOU define beauty!
A lot has evolved over the years in terms of self-image, body image, self-esteem, perspectives and duplications of what was meant to be. So is the case with beauty. Beauty is now determined by purchasing expensive products, alterations of self to align with certain sizes and a major chunk is to do with social media. How others interpret themselves is now becoming a definition for our own selves. The need for approval, validation and acceptance has been based on how many “likes” or “comments” you get on your social status or on your extravagant picture you chose from a billion of other selfies that you clicked; each of which is beautiful but got rejected keeping in mind a “certain mentality of perfection”.
The term “role model” came up for varied reasons mainly drawn to focus one’s attention on a goal and how the best in that field could inspire you in some way or the other. But today, the word has lost its meaning and celebrities are being idolized based on their beauty and not for their talent, spirit, courage or any intrinsic motive to make a difference to the world. It seems as though beauty has lost its meaning to glamour and appearance. Everyone is in a race to be better than the best; where creativity is lost and talent has no meaning. It’s almost like a world of online imprisonment that tortures you mentally and transforms you physically, to “fit in”.
In a world where technology has reached new heights, plastic surgeries have also transformed people into exactly the shape they want to look like. Debated arguments suggest that it’s “OK” to want to look better if a person has a defect and would like to change a particular feature that bothers them so much. After doing so, they do experience a new sense of self-esteem, confidence and satisfaction and they tend to be happy and view themselves differently than others. But the problem arises when it becomes an obsession- to look better than the previous surgery, to have a perfect face cut or to be curvier or bustier.
Beauty does come in all shapes and sizes. But what really matters is your acceptance of it, rather than people’s perspectives on how you should view your own self. Beauty has evolved over the years where earlier, importance was given to nature in its purest form. Its modification has led to a commercialized world wanting the original one back!
I guess that’s the irony of life; wanting better versions of yourself but getting so lost in it that you want the simplicity back.
Even the simplest of things now take you aback like a baby’s giggle in your arms, taking a morning walk to welcome the sunrise, giving food to the needy or the feeling of belongingness when your pet dog runs towards you after a tiring day at work. Beauty lies in simple things, in simple deeds that can be felt and sometimes, shared.
During your growing years, the mirror becomes your best friend and ‘the perfect’ face becomes your biggest obsession. Times when you sit and cry to yourself for having a set-back will only give you a crying face in return. But if you try smiling at the mirror, that’s exactly what you get back; a smiling image of YOU, of hope, of beauty. And suddenly things start to fall in place.
Time wasted in front of the mirror trying to better what’s perfect in its natural self is then used to better one’s deeds in going out into the world and making a change and in sharing the feeling of beauty that you tend to experience in the course of time.
Everyone has a different story to tell and so does beauty!
Beauty lies in the innocence, the acceptance, and the realizations. Beauty lies in the feeling, in loving and being loved. Beauty lies in YOU!
thediaryofcarma 