As a skin care professional whose business is to improve the skin health and appearance of my clients and educate them about importance of skin care, I am always surprised at what appears to me a double standard about our concept of beauty.
When I was reading one of professional magazines, I run into this article by Doctor Mark Berman. I’m not going to make you read all of it, but here is the part with which hard to disagree.
“In almost everything we perceive and enjoy, beauty is a virtue. Why isn’t every house a dull, square, functional structure? Why doesn’t every commercial high-rise look alike? Why do we care about the appearance of our cars? And why would someone worry about what his or her jacket or sweater looks like?
All of these things – our homes, our places of work, our means of transportation, and our clothes – serve utilitarian purposes. And yet, somehow, it’s not enough that our homes shelter us, our high – rises provide office space, our cars get us from point A to point B, and our clothes keep us warm. When it comes to home, office, car, or clothes, most people care a lot about the appearance of things.
The simple fact is that human beings enjoy things that are beautiful, and it is our appreciation of beauty, especially in the form of art, that distinguishes us from the lower animals. When it comes to personal beauty, this higher function serves another purpose as well: beauty is typically a sign of good health and strong genes, and therefore what attracts us to each other as potential mates.
Clearly, then, it pleases us to look at physically attractive things. And that is the virtue of beauty: It makes us happy. And I humbly and simply submit that the meaning of life is to exist and be happy. You may have various goals, purposes, projects, desires, or spiritual pursuits, but ultimately everything you do is to get you from day to day and hopefully provide you as much joy as possible.
So why would looking physically better… be considered “vanity”, especially in the negative sense of that word, with its drippings of conceit and inflated pride in one’s appearance? After all, it’s perfectly fine to color your hair and wear make-up. We don’t condemn people for taking care of their health or their bodies. And far from condemning the “vanity” of fashion, we glorify it. ..
Is someone who wants to look better and feel better about his or her appearance conceited? The answer is simply no…”
What do you think?
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