Beauty that Cannot be Possessed

Beauty is an illusive term at best. It's a word that is fraught with baggage and unmet expectations. We see “beautiful” people on screens, and we are tempted to contort ourselves so that that we too may be like them. Yet, we come up short. We are rarely satisfied with ourselves, and rarely satisfied with those around us. This version of beauty has become so poisonous that we must self-soothe we encounter it.

Whether you soothe by shrinking away from the looming expectations, or you fly high above such arbitrary standards, neither are grounded in the truth about beauty.

How the world defines beauty is closer to novelty and consumption than goodness and truth.

Can beauty save the world? Surely this beauty cannot save anything, it can only bind.

But there is another type of beauty that cannot be possessed, wielded, or sold. It is a beauty that is understood in terms of its affect instead of its attributes.

I recently learned of mythic character named Isolde that embodies this type of beauty. When she walks into the room, it is like looking into the sun at midday. The sight of her beauty warms you, indeed, it might even make you squint. Her warmth and light is a force flowing through her, emanating from her, but itself cannot be possessed.

It’s more accurate to say that this type of beauty has you, than to say that you have beauty.

This version of beauty helps me understand certain music, artwork, or film. It is not the art itself, but the light that is passing through the art that brings warmth to some unnamed part of me.

We are faced with counterfeit beauty that makes us shrink or fly away, but true beauty warms, enlightens, and invites.

We can know a tree by its fruit, and from the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.

Which version of beauty are you responding to?