The Eye of the Beholder ...

I read this quote on facebook earlier this week: "Beauty isn't pain; insecurity is. Beauty is effortless."

This quote really spoke to me and I wanted to explore the meaning of it, and of course hear what you all have to say as well.

Beauty definitely is NOT pain! You aren't only beautiful if you have the highest heel, longest lash, tighest abs, strictest diet and most tamed hair. I never really understood or embraced the idea that beauty is pain. That in order to appeal to other people there had to be some physical discomfort. That does not make sense to me.

This is the dictionary.com definition of beauty:

beau·ty

/ˈbyuti/

[byoo-tee]

–noun, plural -ties.

1. the quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind, whether arising from sensory manifestations (as shape, color, sound, etc.), a meaningful design or pattern, or something else (as a personality in which high spiritual qualities are manifest).

2. a beautiful person, especially a woman.

3. a beautiful thing, as a work of art or a building.

4. Often, beauties. something that is beautiful in nature or in some natural or artificial environment.

5. an individually pleasing or beautiful quality; grace; charm: a vivid blue area that is the one real beauty of the painting.

6. Informal . a particular advantage: One of the beauties of this medicine is the freedom from aftereffects.

7. (usually used ironically) something extraordinary: My sunburn was a real beauty.

8. something excellent of its kind: My old car was a beauty.

 

 

There is no amount of pain that can infuse your spirit with beauty so why do we try so hard to achieve what is supposed to come naturally?? You possess beauty if you are beautiful in nature as the definition says. You're not beautiful because of all the artificial things you've added on top of what God already gave you.

 

 

So beauty is not, in fact, pain. Insecurity on the other hand can be very painful and can hold you back from a lot of things. I would know because I was insecure most of my life.

 

Insecurity caused me to draw into myself. I never thought people wanted to be around me for extended periods of time. Sure, I was always fun in small doses. But I was SURE that if anyone spent any real length of time with me, they would want out. This included friends as well as potential "boyfriends". I just couldn't believe that anyone would want to get to know me on the deepest levels. The saddest part is that I never gave people the opportunity.

 

I inflicted so much pain on myself by sheltering myself from people who, in my mind, wouldn't want to be my best friend/boyfriend/roommate/mentor, etc. etc. I spent a little time with someone and then pulled away because I went over senarios in my mind about how they wouldn't want to go out to lunch with me again or spend the night at my house again or share heartfelt conversations with me again. So yes, insecurity is pain.

 

And just to be fair, this is what insecurity means:

in·se·cu·ri·ty

/ˌɪnsɪˈkyʊərɪti/  [in-si-kyoor-i-tee]

–noun, plural -ties.

1. lack of confidence or assurance; self-doubt: He is plagued by insecurity.

2. the quality or state of being insecure; instability: the insecurity of her financial position.

3. something insecure: the many insecurities of life.

 

 

 

So if pain can't cause you to be beautiful, what is beauty? Well, beauty is effortless. It's not the girl in school that has to work every day of her life to stay on top and feel accepted. It's not the woman who spends all her money on plastic surgery to have someone else's features. Now don't get me wrong, these people may look good on the outside.

 

However,the effortlessness of beauty comes from within. That sparkle that lights up yoru smile makes you beautiful. That mistake that you learned from and grew from makes you beautiful. The confidence that allows you to hold your head up high when your face has been disfigured is beautiful. So many qualities about humans make them beautiful. It's not the clothes or makeup or procedures that MAKE us beautiful. We're beautiful because of who we are so remember that : )