The desire for beauty permeates almost every aspect of human culture. We seek the attainment of it in our art, music, writings, buildings—even our selves. Yet for all the pain and effort people undergo in pursuit their respective aesthetical goals, beauty doesn’t seem to have any real practical or functional purpose. It’s a vague and intangible concept, one whose definition varies from person to person, the realization of which occurs somewhere between our mind and our heart; a concept that, in and of itself, is nothing but good, yet incapable of sustaining a person in the same manner as food, water, and sleep—yet many are willing to sacrifice any one of those things in an instant for the possession of beauty.
There should be a differentiation made between beauty and true beauty, however—While it’s obvious that beauty is defined as something different for each person, it can’t be ignored that in every society or culture, the general definition of beauty varies. Men and women throughout the ages have sacrificed comfort and health in various forms in order to subscribe to whatever the dominant ideal of beauty might be. From foot binding in 19th century China to Spanx and rhinoplastys in modern-day America, much has been done to alter and manipulate the human body to fit the current aesthetics of society. Yet no matter how hard we work, true and “perfect” beauty is something that is rarely able to be manufactured. No matter how carefully and lovingly painted a canvas may be, it can never completely capture the perfection of the sun dipping gently into the Atlantic; No matter how excellent her surgeon’s credentials, Joan Rivers is never going to look as fresh-faced and dewy as she did in her youth. We all know this intuitively, yet the desire for beauty in our lives is a strong one. In fact, I would argue that it isn’t simply a desire, but a necessity.
The Catholic writer and theologian G.K. Chesterton once wrote, “The world will never starve for want of wonders, but for want of wonder”. One of the functions beauty serves is to inspire wonder. To realize something (or someone) as being truly beautiful, all of your attention is required.
