Home » Home & Style » Living With Nature » The meaning of beauty

The meaning of beauty

© Van Waffle

If asked the question, "What is beautiful?" we would each have a different story to tell. One might describe a garden, another a sunset. To many, it might be a painting, a cathedral or a symphony. To one of us, a particular man or woman might best embody beauty. And if asked what qualities make that person or thing beautiful, the answers would be just as numerous and perhaps even more complex.

Beauty is understood as certain qualities of form or structure which appeal to the senses, usually but not necessarily to the sight. It can also apply to aspects of human character. If I say, "She is a beautiful person," you would need more information to know whether I was talking about the way she looks or the way she behaves.

Out of balance

Often we become obsessed with superficial aspects of beauty. Women in particular, but also men, feel compelled to strive for attributes such as a slender body or smooth complexion. Failure to conform can be fraught with low self-esteem or resentment. We may fill our homes with cheap imitations of art, or fill our ears with cheap imitations of music, often lacking any genuine beauty.

On the other hand, we may be inclined to denigrate physical beauty entirely. Religion often does so. Nature itself may be considered fallen, corrupt, ephemeral and insignificant, somehow removed from divinity and moral purity. With this world view, we are supposed to eschew our interest in physical beauty, focusing our desires entirely on a spiritual reality we can't see. Beautiful things or people may even be considered deceptive, and therefore are to be held in suspicion. In some cultures, women must cover and hide their bodies to avoid provoking carnal thoughts.

Alienation

Partly because of this repressive way of thinking, Western society has progressively cut itself off from natural beauty. The majority of people live in urban areas surrounded by convenient but unappealing forms. Few of us are taught to take time to appreciate the beauty of weather or a forest. Many of us tune our souls to musical sounds or other forms of entertainment that are violent or monotonous.

Nature offers beauty in its rawest form. In the arts, we interpret beauty in various ways. Our understanding and appreciation of these forms are as diverse as humanity itself, and no two people will see beauty in exactly the same way. But in a society isolated by industrial, sanitized forms, we are increasingly alienated from beauty. The more we become separated, the more inclined we are to mistrust or devalue it. We become impatient. We won't take time to gaze into the fire, consider a rose, understand a poem or listen to an orchestra.

The copyright of the article The meaning of beauty in Living With Nature is owned by Van Waffle. Permission to republish The meaning of beauty in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.