Miss Piggy probably said it best:
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
and it may be necessary from time to time
to give a stupid or misinformed beholder a black eye."
But let's seriously consider it. It's a very old sentiment which has been around since the 3rd century and while many men have included that sentiment in their work (Shakespeare for one), the actual quotation "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" was first seen in print in 1878. Margaret Wolfe Hungerford (nee Hamilton) who wrote many books often under the pseudonym of "The Duchess" wrote "Molly Bawn" in 1878 and used the phrase "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder".
And the saying and the meaning behind the saying is as pertinent today as it was when first penned.
You only have to look at the animal world to see that it's true. Mothers just adore their off-spring and it's the same with us. A new born babe will bring oohs and aahs and sighs of delights.
Take your surroundings - things of beauty dazzle our eyes every moment of every day. Beautiful flowers, extraordinary sunsets. The moon reflected on the water. The sight of Uluru after it has rained. The sound of a country stream merrily singing as it travels down a hillside. The quietness and beauty of the forest. Tiny little insects - ladybirds and the like, small birds learning to fly; the snuffling of a wombat. We will spend time just watching their antics and movements. Funny little kittens and puppy dogs. Even little children as they try to walk and in doing so keep toppling over.
It's not only young things that are beautiful. Oh yes, the body of a "gorgeous" young woman will bring similar oohs and aahs and in fact will convince other young women that they should emulate the beauty defined by the media while those of us who are older, smile and remember!
As far as "beauty" is concerned, where does that leave the growing older woman? Or the woman in her prime - the 70s, 80s and 90s?
It's weird, but men seem to be besotted and enamoured by battered old rusty cars or utes. They'll spend hours longingly cleaning them and doing them up. But what do they do when their girl-friends or wives grow a little old and rusty? Trade 'em in for a later model. Crazy!
They may even cunningly suggest that she's let herself "go" and could do with a bit of Botox (or not!) which should be taken with a grain of salt. What do you really want botox for? To hide the life-experiences that show the world that you've lived? We should never be taken for granted or persuaded to change our looks merely for the sake of "looking younger". Why? The hands and neck will tell the story anyway and no botox will help those areas.
(And anyway, do most of us actually KNOW what Botox is? It is made from "botulinum toxin type A", a poison produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum, which causes botulism, a severe form of food poisoning.
Botox is injected into the muscles used in frowning and raising the eyebrows to paralyze them and thus smooth out the wrinkles. Common side effects of Botox injection include droopy eyebrow or eyelid, headache, respiratory infection, flu syndrome, and nausea.)
To be continued .....
