Beauty truly lies in the eye of the beholder. Many people cite famous models, picturesque tourist spots, and exquisitely crafted items as their idea of beauty, but I prefer a more natural and understated definition. It is the quality or aggregate of qualities in a person or thing that gives pleasure to the senses or pleasurably exalts the mind or spirit
To me, beautiful people are not those who are well endowed or glamorous. Rather, they are people with `beautiful’ personalities. I know of a lady whom everyone considers beautiful not because she has delicate features, but because she is kind and caring from the heart. When one talks to her, one is never in doubt over her sincerity. Once, I was all torn up over a family problem and she was the first to come and offer aid, both emotional and material. She is always ready to give of herself to those around her, and that makes her one of the most beautiful people I have ever known.
Another person whom I find beautiful is my friend, Sally. She is not beautiful by conventional standards, but he has such a warm and bubbly nature that everyone around her is immediately attracted to. She has a wonderful and quirky sense of humor, which is really entertaining. Everyone enjoys her company and her ready peal of laughter is always heard. Few have seen her daunted by anything at all and in fact, her high-spirited greetings every morning are what we look forward to.
Places that are beautiful to me are not those that are perfectly captured on postcards, but rather, those with a sense of serenity and charm. I enjoyed the countryside of Europe tremendously not because they are wonderful works of nature, but because they gave me a sense of tranquility that I do not find in Malaysia. Europe is so steeped in a culture that even just walking along the cobblestone paths is enough to conjure images of a romantic world long past. Coupled with this old-world charm is the sense of history that one feels in the places visited. It provides an awesome experience that makes one want to go back again.
In all, beauty is a state of mind, for no one who is negative about experiences and life would find anything attractive. To use a line from the famous poet William Blake, beauty comes when you can “see the world in a grain of sand”. It is the quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind, whether arising from sensory manifestations (as shape, color, sound, etc.), a meaningful design or pattern, or something else (as a personality in which high spiritual qualities are manifest).
