We are taught from a very young age to revere physical beauty.  It isn't until we get much older that we figure out it's inner beauty that matters most. That interim time we spend soothing our eyes with what we consider aesthetically pleasing is often times accompanied by mending our broken hearts.  For most of us, those wasted days we’ve spent with "eye candy" pales in comparison to the real thing. I think it's a travesty that people are coerced by society into developing meaningless preferences for their most intimate relationships based upon what a person looks like and not what type of character they have. 

We overlook anything that may have depth just to possess beauty for a fleeting moment. We’re so hoodwinked into believing that outer beauty is the important thing. We’re not told that physical beauty wanes with age and then in hindsight during some brief moment of clarity, we suddenly get it. Aging no longer seems scary when vanity is put into its proper perspective. Gray hair and wrinkles no longer are dreaded.  Some people wear them well and like a fine wine, they become better with age.

Many people alter their appearance thinking that a youthful appearance might grant them the key to happiness by cheating the aging process when in reality all it does is buy their plastic surgeon's a Porsche and helps put his children through college.  So why does aging scare people? Why do we feel less desirable? When we turn 50 is it really necessary to look 30 in order to feel the happiness we so desperately seek?

Vanity is such a powerful force that rules supreme from our early years right up until the time we realize vanity is a waste of time. Physical beauty is so subjective and filled with individual preferences.  If asked to name the three most beautiful women in the world and the three most handsome men, the list would vary from person to person.  What we might find out by comparing lists is how we differ in our definition of physical beauty.

No wonder so many teens develop eating disorders and remain confused and unsatified with their appearance for years. When beauty is defined in terms of the picture below, what we strive for is not only unhealthy, but is a hideous facade as well.  The picture is from a recent runway show featuring clothes most of us couldn't wear because we have too much meat on our bones thus making us ugly by society’s standards. Yes, physical beauty is governed by our preferences. What looks hot to one person might make someone else run away in search of a paper bag and a Phenergan suppository.  After looking at this picture, it makes me thankful vanity has passed me by and the only use I want a paper bag for is to cover this successful lost soul until she gains alittle weight.