The Question of Definition

One of the challenges in defining beauty is, as often emphasized, determining whether beauty is defined by the external or the internal.  The external is what we can truly control in our lives, more than our hearts and our minds, so it is perhaps thus the easiest to define.  The internal is far too subjective to be worthy of debate, after all, how can we argue over the quality of one's eyes?  How can we measure the characteristics of one's soul? The strength of one's spirit? It is difficult, to say the least.

The external poses similar issues, where culture, ethnicity, and fashion come to play, each with a strong influence on our perception.  Where in the past women with curves, pale skin, and round faces were considered the epitome of beauty, today in Western culture the opposite can be said to dominate.  The defining of beauty can therefore either be attributed to a decennary trend, or a personal crusade.

If considered a matter of personal development, as in the pursuit of beauty, there are questions that must be asked with every influence, garment, trend, and "rule". These questions tend to begin with:

• Who am I?
• What is my mood?
• How am I viewed?
• Who do I want to project?
• Who do I want to become?
• How does this reflect my personality?
• How does this affect my mood?
• How do I feel in this?

What do you ask?