Beauty

I think beauty is important. The physical beauty of other people. The type of physical beauty that excites us sexually. The beauty of cars and trains. Architecture. Art. Music. Dance. Landscapes. Fashion. Interior design. Gardens. Animals. Poetry. Literature. Drama. Ideas.

We all have different concepts of beauty, different tastes. We all have our own priorities. And our tastes and priorities can shift and change over time. But I think whatever we find beautiful and worth pursuing is important to us. And I suspect that if you attack someone else’s concept of beauty, belittle them or berate them for finding beauty where you don’t, or devoting themselves to something they find beautiful when you think they shouldn’t, you are, in some fundamental way, attacking them…attacking their core, attempting to erase them.

I don’t let myself off the hook on this because I know that I sometimes judge people by what they like, too. Sometimes I do it and I’m not even aware I’m doing it. Months or even years later, I’ll reflect on my attitude, and I’ll wonder why I cared so much about what kind of shoes a friend wore, or what music they listened to, or what kind of people they were interested in romantically.

Maybe it’s all part of some strange human instinct to gain control, to establish dominance. I don’t know. But I do know that I don’t like it much when people tell me that there’s something wrong with my tastes. And I sometimes wish I lived in a world were we weren’t so nasty about what others plant in their window boxes. Maybe that flower we’re so intent on pissing on is helping someone get through the day.