A Lady’s Beauty is a Gentleman’s Delight
Romantic enough? Or: sexist enough? Or: validating ‘beauty’ and ‘delight’, is there any choice?
Of course, this may all be reciprocal.
Lady, gentleman
These concepts seem to come from an unreal past. Even so, I do want to honor them, specifically in AURELIS-context. To me, they point to deep respect for oneself as total person within one’s being a woman or a man – beyond genetics – and without any striving for direct ego-gratification.
I think this has been their deeper meaning from antiquity onwards, although not constantly realized. True culture has always been related. That’s OKAY if it results from inner motivation, say: nature, on which true culture has always been built. In other words: without ‘depth’, there are no ladies and gentlemen.
Ideal of beauty
Female beauty does not depend on any specific here-and-now ideal, but on what she does with such. Therefore, every ‘lady’ can be beautiful in every culture. Eventually, it’s her choice, her endeavor.
I see the concept of ‘lady-ness’ as being intrinsic to this choice. It lies in her attention, her intention, her effort towards beauty. The end value – as always – is depth. If some ideal is superficially pursued, it leads to more superficiality. If the same ideal is pursued with depth, it leads to even more depth.
This is generally the power of ‘an ideal’. Better not shoot at it but use it in appropriate ways.
The eye of the beholder
It’s nice if a lady searches the being-beautiful in the eye of a gentleman. Please note that ‘total person’ is already included in both. So, there is no search for one’s own petty benefits. There is in this being-beautiful first and foremost a search for making-the-world-a-better-place.
What can make it more a better-place than enhancing deep delight?
Next: admiring
may again seem superficial. It’s not if it’s not. It takes effort to appreciate this.
Finding and being found beautiful. Being glad for being-with-beauty. Conventional beauty is not needed for this, but handling beauty in a good way, is.
Make no mistake: this handling of beauty is Inner Strength, including the strength to choose in which way it may be sought and to what purpose [see: ‘What is Elegance?’].
Beauty inspires.
This beauty by my side
For a man, it’s special to have a woman by his side – in life or just walking down the street – who values her own beauty. It makes him want to be there, for her, for himself and just plainly ’to be’. It’s quite existential. His liking to be-seen with her, is also not necessarily superficial.
As nothing is necessarily superficial.
This way, I definitely want a lady to make herself beautiful for me.
It inspires me to be gentle. It’s sexy. It’s her special gift, making me grateful and happy. I don’t feel anything inappropriate in this, in any situation.
Deeply enjoying each other
in self-perpetuating patterns, beauty leads indeed towards a better world.