beauty is in the eye of the beholder...


beauty (byoo/te)
1. the quality present in a person that gives intense aesthetic pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind or senses.
I think beauty is often treated as loose and fast. Our culture seems to define beauty as purely physical and out of the realm of reality. Teen girls trying to look like the Photoshop versions they see in the magazines. When the sense of physical beauty is present, every other factor seem to run into the blank canvas of white space. Not thinking they have a chance to compete, they fade away as quickly as they can.
If we could see beyond the physical definition of beauty and start to appreciate the quality that is non-physical, we could really start to get somewhere. I am fully aware that trying to shift such as pervasive cultural value among the masses is not going to happen. As most values, while our laws may be at odds with our beliefs, for the most part, it doesn't change the way we do our personal business. There are a few studies out that say we can go back to Roe v Wade and see a breakdown in our culture, as a whole. I personally agree but that ruling has made not one iota of difference in my personal values nor has it changed what I believe...and I am not convinced that beauty isn't as entrenced in our lives and maybe, just maybe...may effect more people than the black and white issue of abortion.
My grandkids are the cutest in the world - don't get into it with me. I would also expect that Miss Cheryl, you think Miss Jada is over the moon for you. I would expect nothing less. We are doing something wrong is we don't feel this way. Their cutestness is not wrapped up in physical beauty, unless it is Easter or Christmas. It is about them being ours, it's their personalities, the way they hug us tight and our digital layouts would be incomplete with them.
Take it up a notch - what does beauty look like in a grownup? How much money and time do we spend trying to make ourselves beautiful to satisfy ourselves. Do you think Jesus gives a rip about that?
I am not saying gain 300 pounds because I think the Church has spent too much time worrying about people playing cards and smoking while talking about it over a huge plate of food. Figure out what is valuable and live it. Realizing that life is a continual adjustment, you will always have to review from time to time. That is as it should be. Beauty is fleeting - a tattoo on your thigh at 20 won't look the same at 60. If you are going for the physical, don't go there. If you get that, and it is about the iconic value...tattoo away.