What is beauty?

Lately, I've been noticing a change in my interactions with the people that I am closest to. And it makes me so very, very happy.

Preface: It is my personal belief that, as a human, the most beautiful thing you can do is share information, thoughts, feelings,  art--anything, really. The point is, you are sharing ideas and concepts and emotions and connecting to those around you. (I say this as I sit alone in my room because alone time to develop these ideas is crucial as well).

I've been coming closer and closer to achieve beauty in my life. For example, today, I sat down with Professor Birgen and talked about what I was passionate about today and she told me relevant information.

Today, when I went to talk to my piano professor, we talked about music, but then we also talked about memory and how memory works best and we shared our opinions about it and talked about Mark Twain and how an educated person doesn't have a clue about much of anything and realizes that.

And my list goes on and on, and it doesn't only pertain to educational material. I've had discussions about religion. I've had discussions about love and relationships. I've talked about morals. I've discussed politics. Last night a person that I only vaguely know shared music that he's been writing with me, and it was beautiful. I told him about crayfish and he was less excited, but he left a mark on me, and I left a (probably less permanent) mark on him, and we both benefited from it.

So, here's my thing. I want to be the most beautiful person I can possibly be. Unlike Sara, I am not convinced of the fact that I am beautiful. I have no laugh lines yet, how can I possibly be beautiful?

I can acquire beauty, though. And I can do this in so many ways. I can do so aesthetically by not only using my body to reflect my values--I want those laugh lines so badly, but beyond that, I can dress and move and do things with my body that show who I am, personally. I can do so emotionally by continuing to have these conversations. Or by opening myself up to new ideas. I watched a TED talk about taking "The Other" to lunch--I can talk to new people. I can share more of what I'm passionate and absorb what other people are passionate about and get passionate about it to. Because, really, wouldn't the world just be a better place if everyone got really excited about a lot of things and you just felt their palpable joy every time they talked to you? Or if you gained the understanding of how to respond to people, and were able to improve their lives because of this understanding, wouldn't that be better, too?

I want to be beautiful. But I want to be my definition of it.


http://www.ted.com/talks/sally_kohn_let_s_try_emotional_correctness.html

http://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_lesser_take_the_other_to_lunch.html