Ten Interesting and Mind Poking Quotes About Beauty

Beauty is supposed to be in the eyes of the beholder, but when there are so many beholders, most lose sight of the beauty. That is why Confucius said, “everything has beauty but not everyone sees it.” So, before you go out seeking beauty, you have to remember that it is more than just the physical appearance. Before you can actually see the beauty in nature or in others, you have to learn to find it in yourself. We all have beauty in ourselves and the world may not always see it which is why these mind-poking quotes will remind you to find your beauty.

Beauty Equals Distance Multiplied By Colour

“Never say she is ugly or beautiful until you get close enough to experience it.” The quote goes. This is a saying by an unknown author who actually put a mathematical perspective on the long search for beauty. Two people may look at the same person or something and have different opinions about whether they are beautiful or not. According to this quote, it all comes down to their distance from the subject and what the subject’s colour is from their perspective. Just because one person thinks you are not beautiful, doesn’t mean you are not, they may just need to get closer to you to see it.

Beauty is about being comfortable in your own skin

“It is about knowing and accepting who you are.” Ellen DeGeneres said. She is one of the most prominent celebrities in the US that have suffered at the hands of bullies. She said people would bully her because of her appearance and sexuality and she always felt insecure until she discovered her own definition of beauty. Her philosophy is that you don’t have to change who you are just to appear beautiful in someone’s eyes. Accept yourself and your beauty will show in its time.

There is a kind of beauty in imperfection

Everyone tries to give their best pose when standing in front of a camera. No one really understands the actual beauty of the person better than the guy behind the camera. That is why the famous cinematographer knew so much about what it takes for something to look beautiful when photographed. However, after shooting great films like American Beauty, he still came and said there is beauty in imperfection.

Only a stupid animal rejoices at going to a beautiful abattoir

Africa is the one place where the definition of beauty is really dynamic and it changes from one community to another. This is a proverb from the Eastern part of the continent where the influence of Portuguese and Arabic sailors affected the culture heavily. According to this proverb, someone that you don’t trust or who has already been proved to be dangerous shouldn’t be pursued simply because they look beautiful. In other words, there is no beauty that is worth pursuing to your death.

There is no cosmetic for beauty like happiness

Most nerds suffer from low self-esteem as people don’t see them as beautiful but Maria Mitchell could well be defined as the beautiful saint for nerds. She was the astronomer that discovered the 1847 VI comet which was later named after herself. In spite of all her achievements, Maria Mitchell’s greatest pursuit in life was her happiness. She believed that being happy was the secret to all beauty and not dousing in make-up or any other form of artificial beautifiers.

The absence of a flaw in beauty is itself a flaw

Havelock Ellis is not exactly the best of historical scholars but his studies of human sexuality helped him define beauty correctly. He was a controversial scholar from the 19th century that studies homosexuality but he was also a eugenicist. He was still right when he talked about the need to embrace one’s flaws because they are part of who they are. You have to accept that however beautiful you are, you will still have some flaws and the same applies to other people. You only need to be mature enough to accept the beauty with the flaws that come with it.

If there is character, ugliness becomes beauty

Most African communities look at character over appearance when it comes to beauty and this proverb is really universal although it originated from the continent. The proverb continues that, “if there is no character, beauty becomes ugliness.” So however beautiful someone might appear physically, if their character doesn’t agree with what society expects of them, they are ugly.

Judge not your beauty by the number of people that look at you

“….. but by the number of people that smile at you,” the proverb continues. This is another proverb from West Africa primarily meant for young women encouraging them to have a good character. According to the proverb, being beautiful doesn’t give you the right to become a thorn in other people’s lives. If people frown at your actions, even if you are beautiful, you become ugly.

Outer beauty turns the head. Inner beauty turns the heart

This is a saying by women’s rights activist Helen J. Russell who is one of the greatest campaigners against the sexist view of women by the society. She insists that for a woman to be considered beautiful, she needs to empower herself professionally and ensure her independence before anything else. According to her, appearance may attract people towards you but it takes investing in inner beauty to keep the right people close to you.

Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy

Finally, a quote from the German diarist Anne Frank who wasn’t as powerful a feminist as the other authors in the list but still very wise. As per her quote, sometimes you just get downbeat that everything seems salty around you. When you don’t think there is nothing beautiful to look at anymore, you just have to look harder because there is something in there.