Inner beauty

Inner beauty

Hair makes such a difference to how we look. As does makeup. We can use extra foundation. We can shave hairy armpits or not. We can push metal through imaginable and unimaginable sites. Our attire can be dowdy or decadent. Jewellery makes a statement. The list goes on. For the purposes of this argument, these things are in our control. What we display on the outside come from ideas inside us. Our appearance is reflected in the choices we make within ourselves. We change, we adjust, we alter our look based on internal decisions.

Exercise, weightlifting, dieting, all have an impact on our physique. There is something in common with muscle building, staying in trim and fit looking. Determination, effort and will. We must muster the resolve to stick to a regime to make the bodily change that we want. That resolve and that determination that results in a change in body shape comes from inside us. The decision to do something about our physicality comes from within. So too is any decision to have surgery to remodel what we have. This again is based on how we feel about ourselves.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but exterior beauty is nonetheless connected to the inner self, the inner beauty. Those that are happy with their weight, happy with their appearance demonstrate another form of beauty; being at one with themselves. Inner beauty is often thought of as our character and personality, maybe mannerisms, compassion shown, empathy, ideals, moral code, and such like. This is still true. It is a blend of these but also items that affect our outward facade. We think. We decide. We act and our look changes. Why say all of this, what am I getting at? Can we have some justification to being drawn towards someone based on how they generally present themselves? Yes, we can. Attraction is so much more than this of course. Nevertheless, our beauty is a fusion of that raw hereditary design and the rash inner splendour.

The inner/outer beauty is a two-way street. How people respond to how we look affects us inside, potentially chiding us to change. Any accident, any incident, any illness, or recovery that has a physical consequence, changes our outlook on life. We begin to think differently, and our inner self is modified. This may lead to exterior changes after the inner self has reflected on themselves. A minor scar tells a story about the person inside.

Did Laura have boundless inner beauty? In the sense that it gave her a look that appealed to me, too right, absolutely. I liked her style, her ways, her jolliness, and lots more besides. Things that stemmed from within her. Classy, not haughty, a person of substance; prim. She made little attempt to obscure discrimination that a commoner would never be guilty of.

Would a reappraisal of her inner beauty in a more rounded fashion act as a form of rebuttal? The nonchalant self-serving attitude is embedded within. Thus, plenty of ammunition is available to attack Laura’s character. She may even turn out to be a fairly empty shell. Is the enthusiasm for staying in shape nothing more than vanity? No, it makes her desirable. Would someone soon become bored by her? Is it just a mysterious intriguing front for plain, plain, plain? I still have enthusiasm to see what I can draw out and what I could do with her. Alongside. Together.

Racists think they are better than people of a different colour. Sexists think they are more capable. Attractive people think they are more worthy. They share one thing in common, they all discriminate. I and most people are prone to feeling superior in at least some regards. Racism, sexism, and other forms of discrimination use the same mechanism. We judge then treat accordingly. Ignoring someone because of their shade of skin is no different to ignoring someone because of their attractiveness. All forms of discrimination are equally rotten.

How do we grade people? By their status? By their level of fame? We could of course pay close attention to charm, charisma, and friendliness. As someone walks by, we gauge their attractiveness, maybe scoring them a number out of ten. We might value someone’s expertise and care nothing for how they look. For they are there to do something for us. If you are in need, you need not look presentable, you can be dirty and unkempt. Who cares how scruffy a mechanic is if they can get your mechanical thing up and running again? The circle of contempt runs along a chain finding ever more irrational reasons to look down on the next in line. Even the lowest of the low will take pride not so much in small accomplishments but sticking to couth principles. We are all valid, equal, so say I but of course some of us do indeed shine in certain areas. We are adamant, consciously, or not, that people, certain people are to be kept at a distance. Oh, how discriminatory some have been until they got to know people of a different creed or colour.