Beauty means many things to many people: a soft, pink morning sky tinged by the rising sun, a rugged man holding his tiny daughter in his arms as he looks down at her with love in his expression…a perfect flower whose fragrance entrances.
One definition of beauty is “the combination of qualities that make something pleasing and impressive to look at, listen to, touch, smell, or taste.”
Another definition of beauty is “an advantage, attraction, benefit, asset…”
But is it? We all love to look at beauty by whatever definition, but not all beauty is good. There’s a wild beauty in a deadly hurricane, and in a rattlesnake poised to strike. There’s treacherous beauty in a physically perfect human whose soul is more villainous than heroic, and sometimes fatally attractive beauty in a poisonous flower. “Gorgeous to look at, deadly to touch” can apply in many cases.
I see the greatest beauty, though, in a man whose love for his woman or his child shines through, or in a mother’s love for her newborn baby. Beauty also shows itself to me in a fragrant orchid or brilliant amaryllis, a beloved pet or an interesting plant or animal.
What represents beauty to you? Tell me, and I’ll pick a winner from those who comment. The prize is a download of my bestselling-ever contemporary erotic romance, A MUTUAL FAVOR, where I hope you’ll discover real beauty comes from love.
Wow, Ann--beauty can be such a big word! I think for me it's mainly what trips my internal meter and appeals to me on some level. It's true that visual expressions of love rank pretty high on that meter, especially ones that are enduring and that aren't actually based on the external beauty of the people involved but on the depth of the emotional bond they've cemented.
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