Your Input is Important
Several years ago, I was working on a project with someone and I mentioned the word beauty. They told me that this is a charged word which elicits negative reactions in many people, including shame and suggested that I not include this word.
I was surprised by their reaction and have pondered it for years. If you’ve read any of my writings from my class descriptions to my articles to my book, you know that I did not follow their advice, I frequently mention beauty because I see beauty everywhere.
Recently, the concept of beauty surfaced again. I have a thought experiment and would appreciate your help with it.
Please take a moment, close your eyes and think of a beautiful person (or people). What image(s) come to mind? What are the qualities that you notice most? How do you feel thinking of this person? Know that there isn’t a right or wrong answer. If you are comfortable, please share these descriptions with me either in a comment below, on facebook, or email them to me.
My reflections are below:
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The Beauty of Our Bodies
When I was in college, I saw an image of an elderly Tibetan woman. Her face was extremely wrinkled and she had an enormous, toothless smile. She positively radiated. Ever since then, whenever I think of a beautiful person, this is who comes to mind.
I know that this image is far different from what we are told is beautiful or I should say what we are sold. To me, beauty is something more than superficial and was never meant to be limiting or homogenous. Beauty is often the result of someone sharing their authentic self.
I saw an article recently that discussed the shame of acne. Something about it caught my attention and suddenly I saw the absurdity of this. To be clear, I have felt shame around acne. I remember being a teenager and being absolutely horrified because I had a pimple on my face, wondering how I could cover it up, or if I could even show my face in public.
Seeing this article, I wondered why. Why do we feel shame around acne? It is natural. I don’t know anyone who hasn’t had a pimple at some time in their life. This winter, I learned that even Manatees get pimples. So why should we feel shame or embarrassment? And how much energy is wasted on this or how much hatred do we direct towards ourselves over a skin eruption?
What other beliefs around beauty do we hold that feed this culture of self-loathing and shame? Let’s think about grey hair, hairy legs or armpits, facial hair, skin color, eye color, weight, rolls of fat, wrinkles, crooked teeth, height, hand size, body shape, the list goes on and on. From a very young age, we are sold an image of beauty that is extremely limiting and not attainable for most people (even for models who often find their images airbrushed and edited). This ideal is reaffirmed throughout our whole lives from many different angles. Often we don’t even question the beliefs or recognize that we carry them. But they are there. And they fuel enormous industries (the US skin care industry alone was worth about $23 billion in 2023), foster a paradigm of separation and hierarchy, and cause harm (sometimes physically but most definitely emotionally and mentally, which impacts us spiritually).
Our bodies are amazing. We only get to experience them for a very short amount of time. We owe it to one another to celebrate the incredible gifts of our bodies, their many shapes, colors, sizes, textures, the way they move, what they create, and how they change from day to day and year to year. Just imagine what this world would be like if we saw and honored the beauty of each person that we meet. And yes, I think every person has beauty, even the ones we find challenging.
The Beauty of Nature
We are intimately interconnected with Earth and our more-than-human kin. As we do to ourselves, we also do to Earth and vice versa. So now, I ask you to close your eyes and think of a place that is beautiful?
Get a clear image. Maybe this is a place that you know, maybe you’ve seen pictures, or perhaps this place is imaginary. What are the qualities of this area? What do you see? How does this place smell? What sounds can you hear? What is the vegetation like? What animals are present? How do you feel in this landscape?
Again, please share these images with me.
My guess is that when asked to visualize a beautiful place, many think of somewhere “wild” or “exotic” like a National Park or the Ocean or a foreign country. I’m also guessing that many envision places that are lush and full of life.
I envisioned Heart Springs Sanctuary: the birds singing and flying, the flowers bursting with color, the butterflies and bees buzzing, and the Trees swaying in the wind.
And yet, to some our Sanctuary is ugly. Ki is wild and weedy. We have areas of mess - piles of sticks and unraked leaves in the fall - ie, habitat. Plants routinely pop out of the garden and grow in other areas and we listen to them. We recognize the value of all Beings included those who are unwanted and unloved by others like Sister Protectress aka Poison Ivy and Poison Hemlock. Heart Springs Sanctuary is a far cry from the massively manicured public gardens and the sterile mown lawns that have become the standards for a beautiful landscape. And that is the point, we are a Sanctuary, by design we are meant to feed life.
Going back to my thought experiment, I wonder how many envisioned a perfectly mown lawn. I guess very few because there is something innate in us that recognizes these as dead zones, even though we are taught that they are the ideal.
The large, mown lawn as well as the ornately manicured public gardens are both extensions of humanity’s desire to control Nature. These standards of beauty may be more accessible; however, they often require the use of poisons, enormous amounts of petrochemicals (and their toxins), and the destruction of habitat, while also limiting Nature’s ability to evolve and reinforcing the belief of separation. In other words, this beauty standard greatly contributes to species collapse, climate change, and increased cancer rates, as well as, having disastrous impacts on our water cycle.
While I recognize that there are many components that contribute to climate change, changing our ideals of beauty is an area that requires little input to have a large effect. One of the best things that we did at Heart Springs Sanctuary was to greatly reduce the areas that we mow. Allowing Plants to grow in abundance here is precisely what has led to an increase in biodiversity. While many people discuss the dwindling Firefly populations, we have an incredible light show every night. Every year, we have seen an increase both in variety and amount of Birds. The other week, I saw a Green Heron here for the very first time. When my students return to the Sanctuary they remark in amazement at how much this place has shifted in the seven years that we have been here.
I know that many townships have ordinances requiring the short, mown lawn, especially in the front yard. Even Heart Springs Sanctuary could be considered in violation of our township’s weed code because Nettle, Thistle, Goldenrod, Milkweed, and other “weeds” grow quite tall here. However, there are workarounds including a number of programs that certify your Home as a beneficial habitat such as: United Plant Savers’ Botanical Sanctuary, Certified Backyard Habitat, Certified Pollinator Habitats, We are the ARK, and more.
And of course, there is educating and encouraging each other to broaden and shift our definition of beauty. Every beginner herbalist and forager learns the importance of “weeds” for both medicine and food. Soon you find your Heart leaping with excitement at the sight of Dandelion and Burdock.
We cannot have a thriving Earth if our landscapes do not support life. Therefore, I am calling for a Revolution of Beauty. Will you join me?
This revolution asks us to:
* Champion the word beauty and overcome our conditioning that limits the definition.
* Train ourselves to see beauty in the wild, the unkempt, the imperfect, the different.
* Recognize that every species has merit and an important role to play.
* Shift any beliefs or systems of hierarchy, separation, and othering.
* Measure our contributions by how much life we have created and supported.
* Celebrate our bodies and the many glorious forms they take.
* Embrace our gifts, our differences and share these with our communities.
* Remind one another of our inherent beauty.
* Take time to enjoy the beauty that surrounds us which includes resting, savoring our food, reading poetry, creating art (in whatever form), delighting in our bodies, spending time with others, and of course, exploring and connecting with Nature.
When I’m trying to shift a belief or conditioning, I look for Ambassadors to support the changes I want. For this revolution, Plants are wonderful Ambassadors. We celebrate their differences. When one has an unusual form or color, we gaze with amazement. They also help us learn how to work with Nature to create life-supporting landscapes.
We have human Ambassadors as well. Many artists have long embraced the role of challenging our limitations of beauty. Some of the Ambassadors whose work I reference when I need a reminder are Alok Vaid-Menon, Sonya Renee Taylor, Mary Reynolds (and her ARK community), Leah Penniman, and Sigi Koko. Where have you found inspiration for beauty?
May you walk a path of beauty.
May you remember the beauty within.
May you honor the beauty that surrounds you.
May you create beauty wherever you go.
And may your Soul be fed by this beauty.