Sunday, May 06, 2007

Beauty

This was in reply to a question posted to me by Dolly, my friend.



Dolly,

Hmmm. Nice question. Needs a long walk to think about.

The perception of beauty per se is very individualistic. What you might perceive as beauty might not be so for me. So how do you come to a common definition of beauty? But tell me, what gives you pleasure, what calms your troubled mind, what gives you a sense of extreme happiness? In my case, a beautiful thing that makes me look for words to describe
it. Be it a person, a thing, or a moment of time.

Beauty is also a cultural thing. For example, in Brazil and Latin American countries a voluptuous woman is considered a beauty, however, in America and Europe, a thin waif like woman is considered a beauty. So what is the common line that you can derive out of this. In some tribal cultures, neck extensions using rings (this practice was popular among some tribes in Burma) or small feet (this was practiced extensively in China) were considered things that were beautiful. Some of these practices we find totally strange, but who are we to judge?

In todays world, exposing your body, piercing your body in odd places, all, convey a sense of beauty, to both the viewer and the wearer. So are these expressions of self worth really wrong? Nope, personally, I feel that beauty is very personal, both to the person admiring and the admired. How many times you would have looked with envy at some person and at the same time your friend might not find the same person attractive? So a common definition of beauty is out of the question and perhaps would not be general enough and right.

My perception of beauty, as I told you earlier, is something that brings me extreme joy, something that leaves me speechless, wondering on the work of the GOD above.

And no, you were not asking too much. Because I find you a beautiful friend.

Venkat

Dolly wrote:
> Whts your idea of beauty & how do u define it? Hope I'm not asking too much tho.
>

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