TRUE BEAUTY

TRUE BEAUTY

How might beauty best be described or characterized?  It is an enigma, an elusive mystery that constitutes centuries of scholarly debate by our greatest philosophers, poets, and theologians.  Dictionary.com defines “beauty” as “the quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind, whether arising from sensory manifestations, a meaningful design or pattern, or something else.”  In “Ode on a Grecian Urn,” the English romantic poet, John Keats, wrote “Beauty is truth, truth beauty – that is all ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.”

Keats seems to have arrived at a reasonable definition, especially since Jesus Christ declared “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32)

Contemporary culture is inundated and obsessed with so-called ideal beauty.  This superficial quest is the crux of our media-related experiences, whether in the film, television, publication, cosmetics or fashion industries.

However, I love the entirely simplistic and sensible manner in which Sam Levenson defines beauty.  He offers the following prescriptive admonition for all who seek to join the ranks of ‘the beautiful people’:

For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.

For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.

For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.

For beautiful hair, let a child run his or her fingers through it once a day.

For poise, walk with the knowledge that you will never walk alone.

People have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed.

So never throw anybody out.

The beauty of a woman is not in her clothes, her figures, or her hair.

The beauty of a woman lies in her heart, the place where love resides.

The beauty of a woman is reflected in her soul.

It’s the caring she gives and the passion she shows.

This kind of beauty just grows and grows!

The sage, Solomon, wrote “Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that fears the Lord, she shall be praised.” (Proverbs 31:30)  The genuinely beautiful are authentic lovers of God.

Beauty can never be properly defined by one’s bodily shape, hair quality, or facial features.  It is always an interior spiritual phenomenon.  If you would be truly beautiful, then 1) have a heart that is truly devoted to God, and 2) always demonstrate sincerity, empathy and love for your fellows.  From the vantage point of eternity, all other manifestations of beauty are totally vain, fleeting and inconsequential. Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed.