The Value of Life

In today’s world, beauty takes on different definitions. Is beauty important? Is beauty a compulsory factor to secure a good life? I am sure many people hold different views. When one thinks of a beautiful person, the first thought that comes to mind is a picture of some celebrities that appear all over television and movies. These celebrities spend most of their time in front of a camera while the rest of the world watch in envy. Many people would love to have the beauty that these celebrities possess. Indeed they are very beautiful, but is that beauty?

Beauty is a characteristic of a person. It provides a perceptual experience of pleasure, meaning or satisfaction. Beauty is studied as part of aesthetics, sociology, social psychology and culture. An “ideal beauty” is an entity that is admired, or that possess features widely attributed to beauty in a particular culture. There are two types of beauty: The inner beauty and the outer beauty. People see these two types of beauty as very different from each another.

A person that holds outer beauty is typically a person that is considered physically attractive. This person, whether it is a he or a she, is usually considered to be slim or of average weight and height. It is very rarely that an overweight person is considered as outwardly beautiful.

It is very normal to refer to a kind hearted person as having inner beauty. He or she always interested in helping and reaching out to others. Everything he or she does is for the good of someone else. He or she may focus on recycling and other “green” matters that will help to preserve the earth we all live on. He or she may volunteer at local missions or hospitals in order to help others. He or she may be the person that everyone he or she knows turns to when they need advice or help through difficult time. He or she usually is reliable. If he or she says he or she is going to do something, you can bet that he or she will do it. He or she may not have outer beauty but this is rarely focused on. His or her inner beauty will shine so brightly that the lack of outer beauty is unrecognizable.

Few years ago, a friend of mine from Korea told me in her emails that she did not manage to get an executive post just because her appearance. She has simple and ordinary face. She was sad & very discouraged by it. She felt it was unfair to judge a book by its cover. Academically she is qualified with an honour degree in Human Resource Management. She was contemplating of plastic surgery to transform herself into a beauty. She told me that she never thought that would happen to her. In the past, she could not understand why people were spending tons of money to beatify themselves to the extent of undergoing plastic surgery and body reconstruction. At that time, she thought that this group of people was with very low self-esteem; they did not have confidence in themselves, and that was why they resorted to various means of beautifying themselves.

However, her perception changed after the bad experience she had gone through. She began to believe and accept that to be employed, one must be good looking too. She began to understand why plastic surgery has become a hit among graduating seniors in Korea. Employers in Korea do not base their selection criteria on applicants’ education background alone; they would want their employees to be good looking person reflects good personalities and attitudes. Normally, people will relate a good looking person as one who is organized, immaculate and confident. Korean employers believe that it is important for their staff to possess both outer and inner beauty. Though this is not impossible it is difficult to come by. Many that have outer beauty are so busy trying to keep it that they usually don’t think about the things a person with inner beauty may think about. Those with inner beauty are so busy trying to do good for others that they rarely think about themselves or when they do, their focus is not on how they can improve their outer appearance.

With the advancement of our world today, people’s mind set is changing as well-inner beauty has to be enhanced by outer beauty as well. On an individual basis or by community consensus, the characterization of a person into a “beauty” is often based on the combination of Inner Beauty, which includes psychological factors such as personality, intelligence, grace, politeness, charisma, integrity, congruence and elegance and Outer Beauty, which is referred to as physical attractiveness which includes physical factors such as health youthfulness, facial symmetry, and complexion.

In conclusion, beauty is a wonderful thing.

Inner and outer beauty is something that people should work to achieve. Too much of any one thing is never good, but some of each is a definite positive. In the past, people may have told us that it is alright if we do not have a presentable appearance, so long as we have a kind heart. However, I think people now will not only appreciate us for all the good that we do for those in need, but also if we portray a positive and attractive appearance.