Beauty

I believe that each of us go through life with one objective: to feel bliss. That's it. We just want to feel that feeling of having our heart sing within our chests. I am pretty sure you know what I am talking about. Different people experience that bliss when they encounter different situations: for some it comes as a taste, for some it's a sound, for some it's an idea. For some it's more than one thing. For some it's easy to feel it, others seek their whole lives for a way to open up to that heartsong. So why does our society put so much emphasis on beauty?

 My most beautiful images on Instagram

Beauty is that which pleases the aesthetic senses. So limited. Yes, some people find bliss in aesthetically appealing things, but others will choose to eat a meal in the dark, with no visual clatter at all, so they can treat the heart to a piece of raw salmon melting in their mouths. When as a society we make beauty the only goal to strive for, we are not only falling short in appreciating all the other human (an nature) orgasm-inducing qualities, we are also sending the wrong message to those who will dismiss such qualities in themselves, over beauty. A girl cuts herself because she has disproportionate features, and ignores her ability to create delightful music in front of her piano. A woman submits herself to unhealthy diets so she can look beautiful, and neglects to nurture her outstanding mind because she doesn't get the same kind of reward from the world. A young man spends countless nights in the solitude of his room, getting women to fall head over heels with his ideas online, convinced that nobody could love his awkward teenage body. Not measuring up to this one dimensional standard is just too painful.

You were born with something to offer to the world. We all did. Some of us don't see it right away; some of us don't see it at all. But we all do and, praise Joe Pesci!, it is not beauty for all of us. Can you imagine a world were everybody was beautiful, and we had Jesse Eisenbergs and Linda Evangelistas walking around everywhere, with not one of Bach's songs to listen to? We glorify that which gives us heartshivers through our eyes, almost like if we didn't have 4 other senses. No wonder blind people are so much more discriminated in this world than people lacking any of the other senses. Even more than people lacking common sense, which is crucial to be able to touch the heart through an idea.

So I propose that we stop the "everybody is beautiful" movement. Pretty please? If you are in a position of power, or are revered and listened to, can you please not tell women they are beautiful, as a canvas statement? I know, may be you mean it in a more general sense; you may be referring to beauty as a characteristic that pleases the intellect or inspires. Don't call that beauty. Can you please be more creative and make use of the vast, rich language you learned years ago, and accurately describe what you mean? Remind them they are valuable, and worthy of love, and lovable, because they have something to offer, and that something may not be beauty, and it's okay. Remind them that the important thing is that we open up to feeling and open up to offer things that will make others feel, and that intelligence, kindness, talent, are all valid things to offer.

I take pictures of people and pose them in ways that enhance their best features. I deal with their physical self on a direct manner, but I capture in my images a lot more than just their appearance. To me, that bliss I talk about comes from confidence. Experiencing it in myself and seeing it in others. I want to eliminate distractions in my client's physical appearance so that they can connect with the person as a whole. My team polishes their natural features and I invite them to look further, to connect with that part of themselves that the camera doesn't show to all, but that they can see through the confidence I bring out in them and which is imprinted in the images I make of them. My clients are not all beautiful, but they all show their confidence to my camera. And that, to me, is bliss.