October 1, 2005
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Inside Out
Outside In
Everyone treasures beauty. We all seek it, long for it, strive to imitate or create it in our own ways. But beauty in and of itself is a difficult thing to really describe, if only because it is individual to our own tastes and desires. What is beautiful to me may not be so to another, and the things I can see may not be there in the eyes of other people around me.
When we are younger, we often look at only the external. We find attractiveness in what we see and that is enough. But experience teaches us that there are far more important things than what we see on the outside. That is when we learn to seek out beauty on the inside as well. Such a concept, however, is far more abstract and difficult to define than the external, for it involves such qualities and traits that cannot be seen.
I've never believed, though, that it ever becomes as simple as that, because no matter how much we may deny it or claim otherwise, these two concepts are far more intertwined than we allow ourselves to believe. By categorizing them separately, it's easy to imagine they are separate, but it's surprising how easily one leads to the other.
What is inside you will show itself on the exterior, just as how your external appearance and behavior affects your beliefs, personality, and psyche in ways you might not know. They are linked and intertwined, connected and inseparable.
If you are shallow, materialistic, selfish, arrogant, narcissistic, or any number of other negative traits, other people will be able to see it far more clearly than you may realize. But by the same token, even if you believe you have a beautiful heart and mind, your inability to care for your health, your body, your physical vessel which carries your soul, will manifest itself through the very inner traits you treasure and taint them.
No one claims to be perfect. But in our attempts to better ourselves, perhaps we should be more aware that our supposed innner and outer selves are not two seperate things, but rather two equal halves of a whole. To believe you can nurture one side perfectly while neglecting the other is just a fantasy. You must balance both, or you may find someday that the decay of one has led to the decline of the other.
Comments (8)
beautiful entry. i've gone through a couple physical and emotional transformations over the years. i think both are just a much truer reflection of who i am.
btw, i *love* the song on your website.
where can i DL this song??
Very good points, my friend. I also have been wondering about our outer selves (such as health) and how it relates to our "inner" selves, like our heart, soul, and mind. Thank you for this post.
Yea, I agree that they do intertwine in various ways. I think if you have a beautiful inner spirit, that beauty ultimately gets reflected in the shell however ugly it may be. I've met many people who may not have been very attractive at first sight but become more so as I get to know them better and the opposite happens with many attractive people. It is important to take care of yourself physically as I think that reflects your inner state of mind and how much you care about yourself as a whole. Neglecting your body perhaps reflects laziness or other such unadmirable qualities.
what's that supposed to mean?
and no cus my friend's being hermione. it's okay harry's cool.
Seriously. America's really slow to catch onto new tech.
Hm... all this sounds so... familiar~
is this the version you wanted me to hear?
anyways~ i hope u had a nice weekend...
chicago was... good and bad
touche
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