They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but when many eyes are watching you, the definition of beauty changes from one person to the next. Nowadays, we are being watched and judged by the way we look, how we present ourselves, and who we know. When society provides us with the mold we should abide by, what is our net worth as individuals?
With the advancements in medicine and technology, we could be faced with the choice of having a genetically enhanced designer baby free of ailments and closer to perfection than we ever will be. (Ted talks: Paul Knoepfler: The ethical dilemma of designer babies – TED.com) My question is, however, what kind of life would a designer baby have? A child, and later on an adult, who can do things easily, doesn’t feel the need for competition because he/she is the best anyway, looks amazing, and doesn’t have to put up with acne, lives an empty life. Some people might say that yes, this is the life they want for their child and why not give them a step up in life while they can? If I had to choose, I’d rather not.
We meet people who have great skin, who have great hair, and who are more talented than we ever dream to be but it does not make us any less. In a life filled with perfect people there will be nothing to do. No feelings to feel, no issues to solve, and the easy life will be boring.
An empty life.
Beauty in life comes from our imperfections. Our uniqueness makes us who we are. Our different levels of talent, our different skill set, our different backgrounds, merge to an ocean of possibilities. Possibilities of meeting the right person, making friends, fighting with someone who doesn’t believe in what we do. Differences in people are what makes life what it it.
A life that is meant to be lived.
Heartbreaks make the heart beat stronger… scars make us who we are. Subjecting ourselves to the confusion of not knowing, of searching in the oblivion for a clue as to who we are and what is our purpose in life gives life meaning.
Our learning curves when we were babies are beautiful. Watching a six month old try to talk to beautiful. A preschooler not knowing the difference between the colors orange and red is beautiful. A seven year old finally understanding the concept of fractions is mind blowing. The minute our brains battle to understand and conceptualize life around us makes us humans who we are: knowledge seekers.
Emotions of love, pain, pride, despair all contribute to the journey of self discovery. The uniqueness of each person, the imperfections, the not too straight nose, the frizzy hair, the gap in the front teeth all make us unique… and from this uniqueness, from this diversity emerges the beauty of humankind. The beauty of life and its many quests inwards and forward towards our end.
Wabi Sabi: (Japanese) a way of living that focuses on finding beauty within the imperfections of life and accepting peacefully the natural cycle of growth and decay.
Bedoor Bluemoon 