Thoughts on Beauty

What is beauty? I believe we are born with an innate desire to pursue beauty (one of the proofs, in my opinion, that we are created in the image of God). But what is beauty? We hear this word so often in such a variety of contexts, but I don’t know if we completely understand what beauty is.

A basic dictionary definition goes something like this: intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind and life experience.

That sounds like a plus doesn’t it?

Who doesn’t want to experience and seek out pleasure that satisfies us intellectually, physically, emotionally, and/or spiritually? No one that I know. What’s more, I can’t help but think that beauty transcends that definition. There is something innately spiritual about true beauty. When you see a sunset something inside of you awakens. We are fundamentally changed by encounters with beauty.

Beauty is then an agent of change. It leaves us different than when it encountered us. It is an active force.

It actively engages our faculties and causes us to stop and take notice. How many things can do that in today's culture? We are bombarded by stuff; ads, information, informercials, emails, text messages, tweets; all of it noise. What are the only things that really do stand out? Only things that are beautiful or overtly grotesque, which is nothing but the perversion of beauty.

Think about the last time you saw or heard something truly beautiful. What was it? Are you surprised how well you can remember it?

What is beautiful to you?