Society and the Pursuit of Beauty

Beauty is a demanding idol. It is an attractive idol. It is wondrous to behold. It promises success, freedom, access, and economic opportunities. Beauty promises a myriad of exclusive and bountiful positive things and it promises relief and absolution from bad things. Beauty is so desirable that the ancient civilizations created gods and goddesses whose whole existence were to be beautiful and create beautiful things. Beauty is desired over more gracious attributes like being truthful or loyal. To be beautiful is to encompass all that is worthwhile. Beauty is something that is largely considered a physical attribute. Even though many people say that "beauty is only skin deep" and that true beauty "is on the inside", the reality is that when people want to be beautiful they seldom mean that they want a good heart or a loving soul. Physical beauty supersedes the real beauty of the soul and the spirit that people should seek. Largely, people do not see how beauty can be a two face idol who presents something when in reality it provides no real substance. Beauty is ephemeral and in the end, the pursuit of it will lead to a track record of physical and emotional scars.