I had written an article for the Taylor's University weekly newsletter. Don't ask me how did I get in there but I actually exceeded my word limits and was told to cut my essay short. Nevertheless, here's the full version of it. Take your time to read and comment.
Inner Beauty – A reality or just a myth?
The subject of inner beauty presents an
awkward dialectic. On the one hand, there is the ultimate desire to enhance
one’s physical beauty to impress oneself; a truly altruistic ideal. Yet, on the
other hand, this is negated by firm believers who endorse ‘inner beauty clearly
outweighs physical beauty’. The search for this elusive balance has proved
difficult at best. How far then, have we come, from a starting point of almost
blatant refusal and just how far have we left to go to achieve the ultimate
aspiration of an equitable synthesis?
Beauty is a characteristic of a person,
animal, place, object, or idea that provides a perceptual experience of
pleasure or satisfaction. Beauty is studied as part of aesthetics, sociology,
social psychology, and culture. An "ideal beauty" is an entity which
is admired, or possesses features widely attributed to beauty in a particular
culture, for perfection. The experience of "beauty" often involves an
interpretation of some entity as being in balance and harmony with nature,
which may lead to feelings of attraction and emotional well being. Because this
can be a subjective experience, it is often said that "beauty is in the
eye of the beholder." In other words, the definition of ‘beauty’ in a
person, regardless gender or age, is viewed subjectively.
Marilyn Monroe, being an influential woman
of her time once said, “Boys think girls are like books, if the cover doesn’t
catch their eye they won’t even bother to read what’s inside”. What a
hard-headed Marilyn is… but true to some certain extent, her saying does carry
an expressive and realistic meaning. When looking into one’s person beauty, it
is often said that physical beauty comes first before inner beauty. In fact, it
takes only 3 seconds to judge a person’s physical outlook! It is no wonder why
mankind will try their best to improve their looks just to gain ‘acceptance’ or
‘acknowledgement’ in the society. Girls put on thick make-up all day long and
guys waxed their hair up and wore expensive check tees just to impress the
persons around us. We signed up for gym memberships and constantly took care of
our diet. We consistently improve and enhance our physical beauty appearances
because we strive for perfection, or near to perfection. From trying botox
injections to liposuctions, some even go as far as to spend a large sum of
money and put themselves under the knife to achieve golden ratio of the perfect
human face. It is a common human nature to look good and feel good of us in front
of everybody Undoubtedly, if we can agree about one thing today it is surely
the world we inhabit today is not the same world as we inhabited in 1950.
Plastic surgery maybe viewed as a taboo during the mid-nineteenths but it is
widely accepted by the society nowadays. The definition and expression of
‘beauty’ has thus evolved over the time. Society’s attitude on ‘beauty’ has
changed and the ‘ideal beauty’ set by a wholly different society and way of
life defines us.
Be that as it may, should we allow the
so-called ‘ideal beauty’ to define us, regardless of age or gender? “People
often say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and I say that the most
liberating thing about beauty is realizing that you are the beholder. This
empowers us to find beauty in places where others have not dared to look,
including inside ourselves,” said Salma Hayek, a Mexican-American film actress,
director and producer.
Clearly, she is firm believer in inner beauty. Sometimes,
being beautiful does not mean you have to carry expensive branded goods, having
a fit body or a good-looking face. Beauty can be expressed in many different
forms and elements, say gestures, actions or words. Audrey Hepburn provides the
perfect illustration. Born in the Netherlands, she nearly died of hunger during
the World War II but fortunately was rescued by the United Nation refugee
programme. When asked about her beauty secrets, she replied with remarkable
grace: ‘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. People, even more than things, have to be
restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed and redeemed. Never throw out anybody. The
beauty of a woman is not in a facial mole. True beauty in a woman is reflected
in her soul. It is the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she
shows, and the beauty of a woman with passing years only grows.’
Conversely, many people think inner beauty
is just a phrase "used for ugly people to make them feel better about
themselves." People who think that are sorely mistaken. Beauty is viewed
in many different ways. Not all people who have inner beauty are
"ugly," in fact; many people with inner beauty also have outer
beauty. So you cannot just look at someone and know if they have inner beauty,
you have to get to know them first. For instance, a person who owns the value
of altruism and generosity will eventually bring out the best in them. This is
because oxytocin is produced when we are touched by the example of someone we
admire through his or her acts of generosity and etc. Oxytocin is a hormone that
creates bonds of affection. The brain reacting to emotions creates such hormone
that make our heart beat faster. Doubtless, this love hormone reminds us that
it is through our bonds with other people that we get in touch with everything
that are good in us. Indeed, “the best and most beautiful things in the world
cannot be seen, nor touched…but are felt in the heart,” said Helen Keller.
To conclude, you do not need to wear Prada
or carry a MCM backpack to look and feel good. Always tell yourself that you
would like to be remembered as someone who accomplished useful deeds and who
was a kind and loving person. While we may not be able to control all that
happens to us, we can control what happens inside us. Always leave the memory
of a human being with a correct attitude and who did his or her best to help
others. Also, whenever you feel that you are not beautiful, always remember our
good old Confucius once said, “Everything is beautiful, but not everyone sees
it”.
Audrey Hepburn, international actress and
world-class humanitarian.
Image source: www.biography.com
2nd Year Law Undergraduate
