I attended a very interesting inquiry (called a Wisdom Salon) a few weeks ago at Landmark Education where we could only ask questions, no debating or rebuttals just questions. So first, it was opened by attempting to define beauty, and here are 3 ways to know ‘What is beauty?’:
1. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, ‘beauty’ is primarily an abstract noun—but it can also be a concrete noun (as in: ‘She is a beauty’) and once upon a time it was also a verb (e.g. The harlot beauties her cheek’).
2. Wikipedia says Beauty is a characteristic of a person, animal, place, object, or idea that provides a perceptual experience of pleasure, meaning, or satisfaction.
3. I like this answer best, in Philosophy Talk; beauty as that which brings enjoyment to the person who looks or contemplates.
What’s the bottom line? You can’t define beauty at all, it is completely subjective. Here are some of the questions that were asked inside the ‘salon’ I attended:
Is beauty a feeling?
Is something beautiful because you can get others to agree with you?
How would you know it’s missing?
How would you know it’s there?
Is there any point in asking what it is?
Is this room beautiful?
Is every colour beautiful?
Is nature beautiful?
Is beauty made up?
If beauty is made up, why did we make it up?
Do we need beauty to exist?
Does beauty touch all of our senses?
Can you smell beauty?
Is there beauty in loss?
Does music make you happy?
Why is sad music beautiful?
Is sad music beautiful?
Can beauty be measured?
Is beauty inherited?
Is beauty cultural?
Is beauty ever inappropriate?
Who gets to say?
So then I got to thinking about our home and I thought of a bunch of other questions that would apply to making our homes happy and beautiful:
Is your home beautiful?
Is it beautiful if it’s the current trend?
Are trends beautiful?
Is it beautiful because your designer says it is?
Or because you find it in a magazine?
Is it beautiful because you say so?
Is your home a reflection of you?
And, maybe that’s all that matters!
What is Beauty to you?
If you would like your home to fill you with happiness every time you walk in, contact me for on-line or in-person decorating and colour.
Related posts:
A profound Letter by Alice Walker
Happiness is. . . Living Life to the Fullest
Happiness is. . . Living life as an Adventure
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