American Beauty

 Earlier today I watched a Ted talk on Beauty. It got me thinking what is beauty? And how does beauty affect our American Society? You can watch the video here: https://www.ted.com/talks/denis_dutton_a_darwinian_theory_of_beauty?language=en
What do you think of when you hear the word "Beauty"? Perhaps you dream of a sunny day, with clear blue skies. Maybe you imagine a beach with waves crashing against the sandy coast, or do you think of a baby making her first steps towards you, or even a cat gently purring next to you on a bed. You might even think of a woman with golden blonde hair smiling at you, as she motions for you to follow her into the horizon.
Now, beauty baffles me. I have always found myself being emotionally attached to beautiful forces. You see Beauty, is a strange characteristic  because no matter how often we try to put a standard label on it, we never seem to commonly agree on a definition. We’ve all heard of the expression “Beauty is in the eye’s of the beholder” but what exactly does this mean? 
When I think of beauty being in the eye’s of the beholder, I imagine that we are able to create beauty around us, if our mind desires. A few days ago I was sitting in my glossy, mid-century kitchen staring at the small purple flower that sits peacefully perched on a bookshelf. I thought of the beauty the flower posses. It was given to my loving mother for her birthday many years ago. As I stare into the plant I start going into a deep daydream. I realize it is no longer the small stem it once was. The once puny green stem, now blossoms upwards and opens up to display an array of epic purple colors. As I continue looking at the plant I realize my mind has started shutting out the world of beauty around me. My thoughts have become similar to those of a stressed out American citizen. Everyday I wake up, and work myself to fatigue, in hopes of fulfilling an acceptable role within our working society. The last few years have come and gone at an unbelievable pace. I’ve become obsessed with succeeding— my mind has been trained to crave nothing else. But as I stare into this plant, I realize that I have never had a moment,  to just slow down… and respect the beautiful flowers that have blossomed on top.—{My heart fills up like a balloon} This is my perception of beauty, and though it fits our stereotypical American  perception of beauty, it is ultimately only unique to me.
 Now I could go on for hours about how different perceptions affect the outcome of beauty, but there is an idea that is larger, and places an even greater importance on our idea of beauty.
That idea is passion. Passion is a strong and barely controllable emotion, which turns the most intelligent people into obsessively dedicated creators. Americans are creators, we are makers, and we are doers. And yet we would be none of this if it wasn’t for our passion. Passion is the driving force of ultimate dedication. Without passion we would never be able to accomplish all the wonders we have. In order to view the beauty around our world; a person must have a source of passion to compare the beauty too. Take a painter as an example. A painter has an extraordinary amount of passion for his art, and a unique perception at his art. This is because he is the one who has made it.  His perception combined  with his passion leads into his own unique understanding of beauty.” That understanding is special to the individual for no other person can truly understand his passion. Now, that doesn’t stop others from attempting to understand the artist’s passion. Every person decodes a painting with their own guidelines, after all. Each person views the piece of art in a completely different perspective, as the person tries to apply it into their own unique life, so they too can see beauty. 
“Beauty is in the eye’s of the beholder.”  However, in a more literal sense, our desire for beauty is dictated by a strong necessity for survival. The need for beauty is intertwined with darwin’s theory of Natural selection. Take for example the sight of a rotting fish. Imagine  the smell omitting from the dead creature— Obviously this is anything but a pleasuring sight…We have evolved to understand rotten fish isn’t healthy for our bodies. So what is our reaction when we approach the dead specimen? We become repulsed. A rotting, dead fish is not seen as ‘beautiful’. Now switch gears, and think of a Women’s curvy hips. Men have a ridiculous lust for a woman with good hips, and believe it or not there is an appropriate reason for this. A woman with sturdy hips has a body which is well built to support a child in her womb. Darwin states that Beauty is nature’s way of acting at a distance. The implications are clear—we were born with a desire for beauty. Beauty is not purely based on what our American culture and society have deems as ‘beautiful.’
Rather the foundation of beauty has been located in our brains since we were born. In our evolutionary past beauty was used as a survival tactic, noticing beauty has literally allowed our ancestors to survive. In America, within our modern age, this is still true—beauty assists our survival, because with beauty we accomplish otherwise impossible achievements. These achievements give us a reason to survive and thrive together as a nation. I'd like to borrow a quote from one of my all time favorite movies: American Beauty: Sometimes I feel like I'm seeing all this beauty at once, and it's too much. My heart fills up like a balloon that's about to burst. And then I remember to relax, and stop trying to hold on to it, and then it flows through me like rain, and I can't feel anything but gratitude for every single moment of my life.
 Beauty extends beyond aesthetic appeal. Beauty is being emotionally moved by anything. Beauty is somewhere within ourselves. It is when the object that’s deemed beautiful mirrors the beauty within ourselves, that we find it beautiful.