What do you perceive as beautiful?

Question

This is a very general question and it can be about anything and everything, though I am not referring to one's outward appearances.

Beautiful is the sight of a newborn baby nestled in his/her mother's arms.

Beautiful is the friendship forged between two friends who are geographically apart but whose shared interests, shared traits make the distance inconsequential.

What is beautiful to you?

Answer 1

Many things are beautiful to me, Lynn. It's difficult to know where to begin...

Nature, untouched, unspoiled, unexploited (by man, of course)... I've seen so many truly, breathtakingly beautiful scenes and settings in the natural world to rank Nature very highly indeed on the beauty scale. So much of Scotland, for example, is spectacularly beautiful -- and here I'll include some man-made structures, most notably my beloved castles. England and Wales are equally, if less dramatically, beautiful... So too is Japan, a lovely land and seascape with trees, plants, birds and other animals I had never seen before. Kyoto, the artistic and spiritual center of Japan, so gorgeously laid out with its endless temples and gardens, is incredibly beautiful... Canada, especially the luscious Niagara escarpment, and many parts of America (invariably when in close proximity to water and/or mountains) are also quite beautiful... I only wish to name places I've actually spent quality time in, so I'll stop there.

People, though perfectly capable of being truly mean-spirited, horrible and ugly (and I am not speaking in the physical sense here), can also be astonishingly beautiful... It is less in their words as in their actions... even the simplest forms... There is perfect beauty in the natural smile that envelopes the face of two long-lost friends or lovers catching each other's eye for the first time in many a year... A fleeting glimpse of a beautiful face, made even more so, again, by a warm and heartfelt smile... And how beautiful is it to see someone perform an unselfish act, designed solely to help another? When it is a service performed for a friend or loved one, it is wonderful; when it is an act of kindness for a complete stranger, it is sublime... There is such beauty in laughter, is there not, mon ami? Whether it is the shared laughter of a group of friends watching a favourite film or recounting some hilarious anecdote or the wide-eyed innocence of the laughing child, so easily amused by simple games like peek-a-boo... Who could possibly fail to see the pure beauty in that?

There is beauty in art, be it painted, sculpted, written or performed... Who among us hasn't been moved to tears by the beautiful words of a favourite author? Or the unforgettable performance of a cherished actor? My God, I can even recall attending a performance of Beethoven's 9th Symphony by the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra (not as famous as some but decidedly good) and being gently nudged by a friend with a handkerchief extended. Why? Because, although completely oblivious to the fact, I had tears rolling down my cheeks...

in closing, there is beauty all around us... even if we so rarely seem to take a moment to stop and take it all in... There is beauty in truth, honesty, conscience, compassion, caring, kindness, thoughtfulness, goodness and Love... most of all, there is beauty in Love... We humans are never so inspired or so likely to exceed our own expectations than when we are truly, madly, deeply, head-over-heels in Love... But let us not forget that even Love comes in many forms (like beauty itself) and amongst these is friendship, a bond that is oft stronger and of longer duration than Love. Friendship is worth fighting for, like Love, and can transcend all boundaries, whether geographical, political or religious. My friends are all exquisitely beautiful and our shared friendship even more so. You are one of my most cherished friends, dear Lynn... and YOU are beautiful. :)

Answer 2

I think the most beautiful thing would be to stand in the surface of the moon and to see a large blue globe in the sky where all your friends and family and all the people you have ever seen walk. Where all your memories and places you have visited are included.
Where all your dreams took color and form.
And then look away in the universe and relieved by the law of gravity and any other laws that we have put to our mind, perceive yourself as part of this huge reality and not as the center of it.
Astronauts are so lucky. I'm still young though, maybe I get lucky too.

Answer 3

What is beautiful to me?

Someone that stands out not because of how they appear, but because they are themselves always. They know who they are, they want to be liked for who they really are.

Also, most acts of nature, even the violent and disastrous ones, are acts of beauty. The sun rising while a hurricane is approaching. The fire burning through a forest at night. The faultlines before an eathquake.

Beauty can be found in so many places....

Answer 4

That´s a really nice question. And hmmm....well, beauty is alota things to me...the special connection between family and friends, as you said, regardless of how far apart they are....the way that ppl who are in love look at eachother....compassion, empathy is beautiful. Music is beautiful. And pure happiness, i dont mean the temporary excited kind, but the real everyday happiness you feel when you wake up and say hey, i like my life, you know? I think when someone has achieved that, its definitely beautiful. :)

Answer 5

anything enlightening or uplifting that gives me a smile or postive energy .. the joy my bf gives me when we lived states apart and kept it going for 5 yrs till i moved here to his state and now were growing ..the beautiful friendship of people i didn't even know i had when i was so near death they supported me by weekly letters and gave what they could to ge tme thru this transition of my move to here..the gift of money from my coworkers to move to here.. the expressions i see on a persons face when they get a hug or being thought of when their day is so sad i almost cry as i know that feeling..the birth of a child to see the parents face. the artisitic ways things bloom in change of seasons..birth of spring..life.The way paintings turn out when u paint one..the snow on tree branches in the evening as it glistens and has that blue shade to it so sparkly makes a gr8 photograph, my pictures when i take them how they turn out..the designs of clothes i create, the fondling of baby animals hovered all together, the end of an ordeal when they all been thru hell they dont let that person down, the gathering of family when a member has went thru chemotherapy and they celebrate life again as a whole, and business as usual, the bagels in NYC with loads of cream cheese and hustling of business starting up at 6 am and seeing the people come alive..the sunsets of colorado and mountains and quiet still life, the walks along a beach arm in arm with ur lover and wishing time stood still. seeing the clouds so close when ur in an airplane that look like cotton candy u just want to touch it and u feel so close to peace and high -my world with ryan..to see there is people out there who touch ur life in anyway is beautiful..

Answer 6

What you see as beautiful on the outside is something you also have inside.

When we pursue the outer beauty, it is because we refuse to acknowledge the beauty on the inside.

Answer 7

Beautiful are the things that cannot be bought by money, a just heart, and an understanding personality. :)

Answer 8

waking up in the morning, busting to go to the loo, then going back to bed 4 a few minuits.
Getting up and stretching and thinking about the day ahead.(I am retired)
Driving my old Jeep to the market as the sun is rising.
Drinking beer in the evening while feeding my fish (which when big enough I will catch and eat)
Listening to the rain when I am safe and dry.
your question is far too big and general , but you get the picture

Answer 9

A loving family.

Answer 10

Innocence.