4 Truths About Physical Beauty
Have you ever looked in the mirror only to be disappointed by your own image? Perhaps you don’t like one of your features and often obsess over your perceived imperfection, or simply think that you look too old. I’ll bet it happens to many of us, particularly women, at some point.
Americans have grown up on images of youth and beauty. Fed to us by the television and other mass media, such images are ingrained in our brains and deeply rooted in our psyche. We take in movies, shows, and programs that consistently re-enforce the idea that physical beauty is a worthy and possible goal. Slick commercials, featuring glamorous women, offer a remedy for every wrinkle, lump, and any number of other blemishes that you may be plagued with.
If you are overly concerned with how you look, in a way that is starting to negatively affect your life, it’s time to find (or remember) some truth. Here’s a quick reminder of five things you likely already know, or at least suspect to be true.
4 Truths About Physical Beauty
1. Physical beauty fades. Oh, but how we fight it! As we grow older, it is a simple fact of life that our bodies change. There are natural laws in place that govern our existence (like gravity), that no amount of cosmetic surgery can completely erase. Solution: Instead of lamenting that we are “over the hill” or “past our prime,” let’s be grateful that we have been given the gift of another year of life. Considering the big picture, our physical bodies are not permanent fixtures; they house our spirits for a time while on earth (pardon me if this is getting too spiritual).
2. Physical beauty is in the eye of the beholder. When the beholder is looking at someone who he or she loves, that person become beautiful, regardless of how they actually look. They might be old, sick, disfigured, injured, etc. — but it doesn’t matter. Conversely, you may have had the experience of thinking that someone was very beautiful, until you got to know them and discovered something ugly beneath the pretty surface (remember Shallow Hal?).
3. Physical beauty is not as important as the TV tells us it is. Only a small percentage of the overall population works as models and movie stars. Yes, it would be nice to be part of that small percentage, but if we aren’t, that’s okay. In our culture, young girls go on crazy diets, get eating disorders, and sometimes even die trying to look a certain way. Sometimes our minds become distorted by the media, unfortunately. Remember that the advertisers are doing their best to sell you something — think of the motivation behind the company or organization that paid for that commercial.
4. Physical beauty does not guarantee happiness. Some of the most attractive people have unhappy or even tragic lives. For example, Marilyn Monroe will forever be a beloved sex symbol, but was she happy? The tabloids frequently feature stories about beautiful actresses that have cheating spouses, proving that physical beauty cannot be the basis for true love or lasting happiness. The things that really matter in life do not relate to having a perfect nose or smooth forehead. It’s your heart, your intent, and your actions that actually mean the most.
