For those interested in beauty and looks (an excerpt from my one of my Dad's books.)

In today’s society people spend an enormous amount

of money on beauty. It’s all about image and appearance.

We forget that beauty is skin deep. It does not take more

than a scrape or a scratch to disfigure one’s face or body, yet

we continue to invest an enormous amount of money on

beauty. The nursery rhyme “Sing a Song of Sixpence”

applies to beauty. In this nursery rhyme, the maid was in the

garden hanging her clothes when a blackbird came down

and pecked off her nose. What do you think the maid did?

She went to the doctor who recommended plastic surgery.

Some people do not suffer a peck or a punch on the nose,

yet desire a new one because they are dissatisfied with their

current nose. Where do you draw the line? Anything that

does not look good you can change. If you are bald you

could get a hair implant or disguise yourself by wearing a

wig. It is amazing the things we change today: our lips, jaw,

teeth, thigh, stomach, breast, bottom, and the list goes on.

The question is why? One answer is because we want to

look better. There is always something we would like to

improve upon regarding our physical beauty, but once you

begin there is no end.

There is also the risk of infection from surgery in

attempting to correct a physical “problem.” Some people

learn that inner beauty is of far greater importance than

outer looks. A former student of mine shared her experience

of breast augmentation. She felt that surgery was necessary

because her self-esteem was low and did not feel like a

woman. After her surgery she came to a startling realization

that fixing the outside did not fix the inside. After her

instant gratification wore off, she was depressed. She

discovered another part of her body that needed attention.

This student was reflecting King Solomon who wrote,

regardless of what you possess, you are never satisfied and

always wish for more.

Beauty is vain. Beauty fades away in the same way

like stars fade away with the morning light. No one remains

young forever. As you get older a song rings in your ears,

“Wrinkle, wrinkle here I come, for your life will soon be

done,” or “Grey hair, grey hair here I come, only dye can

turn you around.” Even if you work on your physical beauty

and it appears presentable, you soon discover other parts of

your body also need plenty of work. Age is no respecter of

persons and external beauty will disappear. I often hear,

“She was beautiful when she was much younger.” I rarely

hear someone refer to an older person in the present as

beautiful. It is always in the past tense. “She was beautiful.”

Beauty pageants come to mind as I think of beauty.

Today, beauty pageants focus less on beauty and more on

talent and character. Why this change? Is it because people

realize there is more to beauty than good looks? What is

beauty? Is beauty in the eyes of the beholder? A woman

written off by some as an “ugly duckling” could enter a

beauty pageant and with an exterior makeover, transform

her appearance. If she exhibits talent and character, she

could become a finalist or even a winner in a pageant.

Today, if you say of a woman “she is beautiful,” it must be

qualified.

Is she beautiful in her voice, character, talent, or

physical appearance? Beauty might not be on the outside but

on the inside of a person. The ending to the nursery rhyme

“Twinkle, twinkle little star” summarizes this notion of

beauty: “How I wonder what you are!”