Week 1: What is Beauty?

My view on beauty has changed.  A lot.
Didn't realize it before, but society defined beauty for me.
And I accepted society's definition without question.
Never liked the definition.
But I accepted it nonetheless.

I'm still not sure what beauty is.
But I do know it is NOT the models of today.
Sickly skinny.  Bones jutting out.  Never smiling.
It's much closer to the days of Marilyn Monroe.
Did you know she was a size 12?
Or that she had an IQ of 168?
Or that she loved to cook?

Not that I'm a "Marilyn" or anything,
But she sure knew how to rock the curves.
And boy.... was she beautiful in her day.
I think she's pretty beautiful by today's standards,
too.

Week 1: What Is Beauty?

Beauty.... I'm not sure I have my own definition, yet, so I dug up a few quotes to help me explore the topic...

Winter Sky January 2011

A woman whose smile is open and whose expression is glad has a kind of beauty no matter what she wears.  
-- Anne Roiphe

Morning Dew July 2009

Beauty is worse than wine, it intoxicates both the holder and beholder.  
-- Aldous Huxley

SnowDrops December 2010

Because beauty isn't enough, there must be something more.  
-- Eva Herzigova

Trumpet July 2009

Everything has its beauty, but not everyone sees it. 
-- Confucius

Sunset July 2011

Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart. 
-- Kahlil Gibran

Inner Beauty July 2009

Beauty is how you feel inside, and it reflects in your eyes. It is not something physical. 
--Sophia Loren

And one of my personal favorites...

Sunrise October 2011

People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within. 
--Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

Pink in the Pool August 2009

I struggle with finding beauty in myself, but can easily find beauty in those and the world around me.

New Year's Day Sunset January 2011

New Years Sunshine January 2011

If they say

that what we recognize in others

is something

we have in ourselves, 

maybe 

there is still hope 

for me to find 

beauty within, 

since it is so easy 

to find it elsewhere...

© October 2011 MGD