the meaning of Beauty…

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what Beauty means to me. Pause for a moment and close your eyes. No judgement here. What does Beauty mean to you?

I feel beautiful when I feel strong. Physically, mentally, emotionally.

When I’m moving my body either hiking, practicing yoga indoors or out, biking, rock climbing, backpacking, walking the dogs…I can feel my muscles holding me up, carrying a heavy backpack, pushing bike pedals, lifting me away from the ground in a yoga flow. Being outdoors especially, makes me feel beautiful and connected to myself. Feeling the earth under my feet, smelling the rain, the sunshine on my back, touching soft moss, seeing fragile webs on the forest floor…these things make me feel alive and beautiful.

Mentally, I feel beautiful when my mind is calm and serene. My face softens, my mouth stretches into a smile. This arises after a movement practice or after meditation practice. In a flow yoga practice, the connection between my in breath and my out breath and my movement between the postures calms and soothes my mind. My thoughts and emotions are settled. I can reconnect with my true essence, which feels beautiful.

There was a time earlier this year, when my body was out of sorts, in the throes of peri-menopause, unpredictable, unknown to me. I felt disconnected from myself and my presence. What helped me to reconnect was movement. Movement settled my biorhythms, my fluctuating moods and emotions, and my scattered and confused thoughts.

I’m very sensorial, so the soft, colorful fabric of certain clothing makes me feel beautiful. Though I don’t wear a lot of makeup, sometimes the sparkle of eye shadow makes me feel beautiful.

Other times that I feel beautiful when I’m making art, cooking, or creating in some other way. Creation makes me feel beautiful.

How about you? What makes you feel beautiful? What makes you glow? Leave a comment. I would love to hear from you.