Real Beauty

Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder

And yet, we are bombarded with what exactly is beautiful in not-so-subtle ways by magazines, television, movies, and other forms of the media. Brad Pitt. Angelina Jolie. George Clooney. Aishwarya Rai. Apparently, they are all epitomes of beauty. [Doesn’t matter if you or I don’t agree that Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie or Aishwarya Rai are not beautiful…the large majority has been taught that they are!]

While different countries and cultures have their own standards, one common rule of thumb to identify ‘beauty’ in a person is the need to be skinny. A size zero as well. And it’s not just women but men too who have the body image pressures these days thanks to ads on building muscles or male models who are very skinny. In countries like India and some other Asian and African countries, real beauty is sold via fairness creams. Yes. If you are light-skinned, you are beautiful. It’s easy to get down and depressed by the manner in which beauty is sold to us. Especially if we buy it and succumb to nose jobs, botox, liposuction, boob jobs and other forms of plastic surgery.

However, I do believe that real beauty is different.

To me, real beauty is…

…the laugh lines at the corners of a person’s eyes and mouth. They signify a lifetime spent smiling a lot.

…the worry lines on your brow. It shows you have lived a full life with family, friends and work to have enough to worry you.

…the stretch marks on a woman’s breasts and hips. They signify a time spent enjoying good food, putting on weight and losing weight.

…the scars left by a major operation. They show that you are living now and have overcome some kind of physical setback.

…the darkness of your skin. It shows you enjoy the outdoors.

…the roughness of a person’s hands. They signify hard work.

…the blisters on a person’s feet. It means you have walked many a mile to get to where you are.

…the glow on a person’s face on seeing a loved one. It signifies that they are loved and have people they love around them.

…the genuine smile on a person’s face. It shows they are content with their life.

…the tired smile in a single parent’s eyes at the end of a working day when they see their kids. It shows they missed them and are working for them.

…the shining eyes of a person on hearing someone else’s good news. It means they are kind-hearted and capable of empathising.

…the plain face of a person alight with happiness. They symbolise hope and help bring you out of your blues.

…the wrinkled and crinkled faces of an elderly couple. They symbolise a lifetime of togetherness. 

Imagine seeing all this in a person as compared to a stone faced and made up Aishwarya Rai or Angelina Jolie or Brad Pitt?

This post has been written for the Real Beauty contest held by Indiblogger in conjunction with Yahoo and Dove

What does real beauty mean to you? Is your perception different from what most people imagine beauty to be?

If you like this post, please go on to the IndiBlogger page for this and also vote for the post by clicking the Facebook ‘Like’ button on that page. Be assured that I’m not going to spam you with emails requesting your votes. 🙂 Please also share your views on real beauty in your comments on this post.

Until next time,

Cheers!!!