Niamh Ryan
Sophia Loren, Grace Kelly, Princess Diana, Holly Willoughby, Adele, Kate Moss, Billie Eilish, Gigi Hadid- the roll-call of famous and beautiful women could go on forever!
Clearly, they are all physically stunning women, but we tend to forget that they are vastly different in terms of physical looks, personality and talent- so why do we compare ourselves so unfairly to these celebrities who not only are all individuals, different in every way to every other human being, but who also have the luxury of a pampered lifestyle, and with the latest beauty treatments and fitness expertise at their disposal?
This a long-running mystery which I one day hope to solve! With this in mind, my goal for the new year and for hopefully throughout 2022, is to be gentler with myself and to set and aspire to my own beauty standards.
Treating the body as a ´temple´, and not just as a mere ´shell´ is key. Nurturing the divine trilogy or body, mind and soul is the journey to not just a beautiful body, but a beautiful being.
Since the beginning of time, peoples of all races, nationalities, colour and social class have been fascinated and enthralled by beauty, and the perpetual thirst and quest to discover it and claim it for themselves. The status of being considered ´beautiful´ in the ancient Greek world, for example, was highly prized and those considered to be ´kaloskagathos´, meaning ´beautiful´ in Greek, were considered to be very blessed and privileged individuals indeed.
Interestingly, the ancient Greeks believed that beauty was not just skin- deep and solely superficial, but that a beautiful person was also a good and kind person- the word ´kaloskagathos´ being composed of two words- ´kalos´meaning ´beauty´and ´kagathos´ meaning ´good´ or ´virtuous´.
The ancient Greek idea that a beautiful person is not just judged or based purely on physical beauty but on other honourable characteristics and talents invisible to the human eye, is a noble concept which is still more than ever valid, in today’s modern society.
In a world where the Kardashians and celebrities from social media and Hollywood act as the ultimate beauty role-models to emulate, it is worth remembering these ancient words of wisdom, and giving ourselves a well- deserved break from the belief that we do not meet the ´required´standard to considered ´beautiful´.
