In a culture saturated with opinions on beauty, what adapts our eye to see beauty that goes much deeper than the surface?

Beauty is Cultivated

As a child, beauty was a topic that brushed by the side of my mind in the same way that the leaves on a branch were swept away with a simple gust of wind. I thought beauty was purely physical. Beauty was the hairbrush running through my long, dark locks while I chose the dress that made me feel as if the world was my oyster.

I had not experienced enough life to understand that beauty is not a simple definition given to us by those who have an opinion. Beauty is curated, crafted, and trained by the human experience of living.

Beauty is found in the depths of human emotion when tragedy strikes. It is found in the buildings that were abandoned thirty years ago, and the homes where fists are thrown before worse of praise.

Every piece of artwork tells the story of an artist who has experienced human emotion in a profoundly personal way.

The emotion that we believe isolates us ultimately unites us through the formation of beauty found in the places that appear desolate.

The Beauty of the Mind

We were created to turn our turmoil into something that showcases our true personality down to the depths of our souls.

I have always been fascinated by the creativity that results from tragedy. The mind’s way of processing emotions that tear us apart piece by piece, and leave us trying the construct something new from the remnants of long-weathered paper.

Authors and artists throughout the centuries have wrestled with deep bouts of depression, spinning thoughts that seemed never to end, and living conditions that would be better suited for a sickly insect. But out of these tragedies, the most profound work of these authors and artists came to life.

“She was beautiful, for the way she thought. She was beautiful, for the sparkle in her eyes when she talked about something she loved. She was beautiful, for her ability to make other people smile, even if she was sad.No, she wasn’t beautiful for something as temporary as her looks.”

―F Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

I have found that the truth of beauty is so unique and personal. There is no accurate definition, no set of words that can lay fingertips on every single soul, or painting that creates permanent brushstrokes on the skin of the viewer.

Our mind is molded as the potter shapes and sculpts a mound of clay into beauty that can be beheld by those who take the time to see underneath the surface.

Through the Depths of Tragedy

I find stories in the wrinkles that appear at the corners of the mouth when a gentle smile lifts at the prompt of a question. In these moments and in these wrinkles, I know that life had not always been a place where rest was available. Life had left its mark through deep tragedy worn into the leathery skin of an elderly woman.

19th-century artists such as Vincent Van Gogh created pieces that display poverty, rejection, and the depths of mental illness that result from a world lived during struggle. The same is true for artists throughout the centuries.

The conclusion that has struck me is that those who experience tragedy so personally receive an almost innate calling to create. To bring humanity together through beauty and to find an interest in the emotions that slip through the cracks of life as we know it.

Tragedy leaves us with lessons to be passed down from generation to generation, imprints on walls, and excerpts in history books. Tragedy results in photographs that leave us with new perspective, silently relating to the emotions reaching out from the image.

In an article from Standing Still Magazine, Mannegram reminds us that, “This kind of beauty is not separate from our mourning; it’s woven all within. It’s a kind that says, “I weep because I loved” — and that is beautiful.”

Finding ourselves in Modern Day

Maybe you are wondering to yourself, how this kind of beauty through artwork and literature even fits into your life, where you are barely finding time to take a deep breath?

However, the beauty is not is what is created, it is acknowledging the depths of the human struggle.

There is beauty from the moment that you crawl out from under the covers and convince yourself not to snooze the alarm again. There is beauty in dread, and there is beauty also in excitement.

There is beauty scattered in every little moment of the mundane that leaves us crawling, craving, weeping, and longing. There is beauty in the changing of seasons, the conversation on the side of the road as you wait for a can of gas.

I cannot help but get lost in the beauty that is developed as we allow our eyes to wander to places that are unfamiliar. We are all united, knit together under the same sky, created to create with love and emotion.

Develop Your Own Sense of Beauty

I love beauty and the depth in words. I find meaning and emotion in the nonfiction stories that tell of an event in time that shaped someone, molded who they were created to be.

I hope that you find beauty in every moment, and that you create in ways that stimulate the depths of your emotion. Beauty is not an opinion or a surface-level compassion; it is a unique combination of character that draws us together.

Resources to Spark your Creativity

Here are some of my favorite websites and ideas that help me to see beauty from a new perspective and develop a new sense of appreciation for the simple things.

Read Creative Nonfiction Stories

Home

View some of the most famous art pieces in America

https://www.nga.gov/

Read new sources of poetry

https://allpoetry.com/

Connect with Artists

https://wepresent.wetransfer.com/

View unique photographs

https://www.theyshootfilm.com/