What is Beautiful

We would all have our own list of ‘What is Beautiful?’ For some
of us, the list would include qualities such as kindness, compassion
or generosity, while others’ lists would contain tangibles such as
flowers, the sun, and their beloved. Football is called ‘the beautiful
game’, yet to me holds no emotional, spiritual or tangible attraction.
Beauty is, and has always been, a highly subjective matter.

Our modern age has thrown many challenges in our paths,
including redefining an accepted definition of ‘beauty’. Some
activities, features or beliefs have been deemed to fit the criteria,
while others do not.

This is a very serious issue when it impacts negatively on people’s
perceptions of their own or others’ beauty or acceptability based on
comparisons to unattainable new ‘norms’. These norms are often
imposed upon our collective psyches via the media, advertising and
even the health industry.

What has been lost is the broad acceptance of the vast
differences and varieties of normal that have always existed for
us as individuals operating in close-knit societies. What has
held our social structures together and created dynamic and
productive outcomes has been the fact that we are not all the
same, that we do not all think, create, function, or behave in
the same way as each other, that the diversity of our abilities
is what creates a functional whole.

Healthy does not and can not have a specific measurement. It
does not look like anything specific, and is constructed from many
variables and components. My ‘healthy’ looks like ‘good skin, strong
build, ok teeth, and clear eyes’. Your ‘healthy’ will look different,
daily, weekly and over the course of your life.

When we engage in a process of taking care of ourselves and
endeavouring to be the best version of who we can be, beauty
begins to unfold.

Making positive choices in our diets is a common place to begin
the process of becoming more well (and beautiful). Remember that
‘diet’ includes choices not only of food, but also of reading and
viewing material, environments, hobbies, exercise and attitudes.
So, creating a truly healthy diet involves many undertakings.

It is most important that we aspire only to our own
greatness, beauty or wellness. There is no formula that
fits all sizes, and hopefully there never will be, for we will
lose what makes us a unified group of diverse individuals.

Beautiful is everywhere, and the more beauty you can
embrace in your own life, the more and more you will be
able to observe and appreciate in the world around you.

Why not start with a commitment to eating more fresh
organic fruit and vegetables, which makes you and the
planet happy and glowing. Add a new mini-exercise to
your daily regime (anything from micro pausing on your
keyboard, to walking a bit faster or further, or taking
the stairs).

Do something kind every day, smile more, tell the
truth and be generous with your gifts. We all have the
power to make the world (ours and the big one) a more
beautiful place!

Lynda