What is Beauty?
Nancy left me a great comment letting me know about Beautifulwomenproject.org. This is a documentary project that questions what society defines as ‘beautiful’. Wow!
“The Beautiful Women Project is a documentary challenging the traditional definition of beauty by showing the sum of a woman’s experiences is what truly has made her beautiful in her present moment.”
I love the zen of that statement too - in the present moment. The zen masters let us know that the only moment to be beautiful is now, because we have only ‘now’.
Let me share with you the words of the poet Khalil Gibran from his spiritual classic ‘The Prophet’
And a poet said, “speak to us of Beauty”
…And beauty is not a need but an ecstasy.
It is not a mouth thirsting nor an empty hand stretched forth.
But rather a heart inflamed and a soul enchanted.
It is not the image you would see nor the song you would hear,
But rather an image you see though you close your eyes and a song you hear though you shut your ears.
I wholeheartedly agree we need to expand our concept of beauty. We live in such an age-ist society where youthful beauty is considered the only kind of beauty worth having. One of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen is the 80+ year old Italian widow kneeling and tenderly kissing the gravestone of her late husband. That’s big love and great beauty right there.
So check out this project that focuses on 35 women of different ages and in different situations and see what makes them truly beautiful in the present moment.
“Through their stories women can realize that they are not alone in their insecurity and quest for self-acceptance. These women redefine the word “beauty” by showing us that what makes us beautiful is how we choose to face both the trivial and the monumental moments in our lives.”
Awesome stuff. Well done. Check out www.thegenuinement.com project as well!