The definition of Beauty

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

I couldn't help but share this fab post from Maria's blog:

http://colourmehappyblog.blogs.....-know.html

Like Maria, I also like this definition of beauty best:

"beauty is that which brings enjoyment to the person who looks or contemplates".

Thoughts?

15 years ago

General

22 replies

Latest reply was from judy

Becky

Veteran

I like that this definition includes "contemplates," which implies that beauty is or can be more than outward appearance.

15 years ago

Late Bloomer

(website)

Active Member

I love the question "Is your home a reflection of you?". I'd go one further. Do I feel at home in it because it reflects my family and I?

I wonder how many of us have our home decorated much like how we dress when we have found our personal style.

15 years ago

Maya

Veteran

I don't like to think about these things that hard. I know it when I see it, and that's that. No need for analysis.

15 years ago

celia

Veteran

Amazing post from Maria.I especially like the question:
Is beauty a feeling?
And I would add:

Does Beauty exist because I see it?
Am I open to see the beauty that surrounds me?

15 years ago

LeahJanes

Active Member

I think beauty is inextricably linked to happiness, it's definitely a psychological response - things can't be beautiful if they don't give us joy on some level. Contemplate is a good word in that definition cause it goes outside the boundary of visual beauty - sounds and music can be beautiful, as well as taste and touch. I think perhaps beauty is the engagement and delight of the senses.

It also has a lot to do with familiarity and unexpectedness as well, new things are beautiful to some and ugly to others - skinny jeans looked ugly to me for ages until my eye adjusted. There is a bunch of common psychology to do with beauty on top of the personal preferences and experiences - the golden ratio, gestalt theory etc etc. Sometimes beauty can be measured, but the science can take the joy out of it too. I am definitely one to notice and suck up as much beauty as I can, finding it in the most unexpected of places.

15 years ago

RoseandJoan

Veteran

Ah Maya but what I find beautiful you may find ghastly, Personally I believe you can't say 'that is beautiful' but can say 'I find this beautiful'. Although beauty may be shaped by common ideals shaped by cultural influences. I think beauty is in the eye of the beholder sums up my thoughts on the subject perfectly.

Does beauty make me happy is a different matter, I can feel a whole gamut of emotions from happiness to envy when I eye/ hear/ taste something beautiful.

15 years ago

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Becky, I like the word contemplate too - even though I seldom use it.

Maya, I don't believe you! You think about *everything* - and sometimes too hard

Celia, well said.

Julie, I love that subtly and will adopt it from now on.

15 years ago

Maya

Veteran

I think about things that are worth my energy to think about! Beauty isn't one of them.

Julie, you're right. I know it when I see it. You know it when you see it. Does it matter if we agree? I don't think so.

15 years ago

LoP

Veteran

I read this the other day. I like this definition best as well, but it made me think about what beauty is and if this definition is confusing beauty and joy. Often, beauty gives us joy. It doesn't mean if we have joy something is beautiful. So I found the logic a bit backwards.

15 years ago

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Fair enough, Maya! You have a strong sense of aesthetic appreciation though, so on some level you have thought about what makes something pleasing to your eye and evokes a happy emotion.

15 years ago

Debbie

Veteran

I like this definition of beauty because it is an individual thing.

15 years ago

shell

Active Member

Haha, when did ylf become a philosophy class? Maybe the fashion world is in a lull.

Like Maya, I don't really care to think that hard about this. I'm not a particularly analytical person and don't find debating the definition of beauty to be very beneficial to me. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder pretty much sums it u for me.

15 years ago

Maya

Veteran

I have a an infinite amount of different things that I find pleasing, that often contradict each other. It makes no sense and has no logic behind it. Totally impulsive. Especially when it comes to people!

Beauty is such a loaded word too. Not one that I use too frequently.

15 years ago

Lisa

Veteran

I've been wanting to respond to this all day but find I am at a lack for words. I guess beauty is just the things that make me smile.

15 years ago

Carole

Veteran

I quickly saw your post today and without having time to explore Maria's post I thought about how I would define beauty-something, someone, some event, some idea or concept that makes your heart smile or could bring you to tears of joy.

15 years ago

Katiepea

(website)

Veteran

I have wanted to post on this thread all day and have struggled with how to articulate myself (I apologise if I don't actually make any sense)! I love the definition Angie has provided, however, being a musician, my own personal definition of beauty is closely linked to how I define joy.

Simply, to me, beauty is something or someone that makes my heart sing. I consider beauty can sometimes be represented by sleepy lullaby sung by a tired mother to her newborn child; it could be a fast and heavy rock-song sung at a stadium to a sold out crowd; or a passionate and virtuosic opera singer performing a stunning aria - all very different genres but all equally capable of creating that same special feeling inside.

Edited to say.... Hmmmmm. Have just re-read that and have realised whilst true for me, it is very corny. Sorry about that everyone!

15 years ago

Sveta

(website)

Veteran

I am not good with definitions at all but I will try...
For me beauty is something that stops you in your tracks, makes you forget everything else for the time being and want this moment to last forever. Something which fills you with joy mixed with tears and makes your heart ache from it. Something which comes back to you in your memory as vivid as it was in the real life and even the memory of it fills you with joy and happiness...

15 years ago

Steph

Veteran

The definition of beauty is a difficult one, and I think I'm kind of with Maya on just deciding it's in the eye of the beholder and that I know it when I see it. When I see the definition of something that brings you joy, makes you smile, etc., I'm not sure I agree. I think Angelina Jolie is beautiful, but looking at her doesn't bring me joy. So for me, at least, there has to be something else to it, but I'm not sure what that is.

15 years ago

Maya

Veteran

Exactly Steph. There are all different types of beauty found in all manner of expected and unexpected places. Sometimes it strikes immediately, other times it takes time for it to become evident. It's so utterly irrational and abstract that it isn't, in my estimation, worth discussing in concrete terms. For every definition here, I can think of 100 exceptions.

Does it even matter? I don't think so. If anything overanalyzing it kind of ruins it. It's like asking "what is love?" and then subsequently wondering if you have ever experienced it because no definition encompasses your emotions.

Ugh now I have that dumb song stuck in my head...

15 years ago

Michelle

(website)

Veteran

Maya... "Baby don't hurt me, don't hurt me, no more..." *cues Night at the Rocksbury guys*

Sorry for the goofy aside. I actually love the definition Maria posted, largely because of its versatility. I find all manner of things beautiful, from the shape of a stone to the chord change in a song to the turn of phrase in a poem or news article. "Enjoyment" is too flat a term for my personal definition, but I think it's the best one as it doesn't limit interpretations too much. For me, I have to feel something beyond enjoyment to call something beautiful. My senses have to experience something beyond run-of-the-mill gratification, but I'm a highly emotional person, and that stronger degree of response fits my personality. For others, whose reactions to things are more muted, this definition could still hold true.
Personally I love discussions like this on YLF. Thanks, Angie!

15 years ago

LoP

Veteran

LOL, Maya and Michele! I can see your head moving together as you sing the song.

15 years ago

judy

Veteran

"beauty is that which brings enjoyment to the person who looks or contemplates".

What I like about what Maria has written is that it is experiential, rather than conceptual. Getting out of our heads about what beauty is...which usually means agreeing to others norms etc....and letting what we behold move us. I think the discussion isn't to analyze, but to open ourselves up to more or deeper experiences of that enjoyment she mentions in her definition.

15 years ago

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