What Is Beauty?

Beauty is not only what we see.It is an experience — something we feel, inhabit, and allow to flow within us and in the world around us.

Here, I share my reflections on beauty — not as a set of standards to meet, but as an experience to be lived.

As a visual artist, I constantly navigate these questions. It is easy to lose oneself in beauty as perceived by others — in what is deemed acceptable, desirable, or marketable. We are often encouraged to follow certain rules, styles, or trends, sometimes at the expense of authenticity and our original impulse, our true gesture.

As a woman, this pressure extends far beyond art. On social media, I am constantly told how to dress, how to look, how to remain “current.” Always be visually pleasing, legible, acceptable to an external gaze.

Over time, I have come to realize that these expectations often come from an external force — pervasive and diffuse — that does not necessarily reflect my values. They speak of performance and conformity, but rarely of meaning, coherence, or presence.

So a question arises: is this truly how I want to live?

And what if beauty were not something to conform to, but something to live in alignment with what matters most to me?

Graphite and white chalk on toned paper. An attempt to synthesize the landscape — distilling what is essential, suggesting an atmosphere, and leaving space for mystery.

The Beauty We Observe

What is beauty?

The question seems simple, yet the more I sit with it, the more it unfolds.

There is first the beauty we observe — the kind that presents itself easily to the eye. But a landscape rarely moves us through appearance alone.There is the scent of nature, the rustling of leaves, the sound beneath our steps, a ray of sunlight warming our skin.

Then comes a quieter emotion —a sense of admiration, contemplation, a suspended moment where we feel touched by something greater than ourselves.A feeling of wonder, of awe, of being deeply moved.

A landscape is not merely seen; it is lived.

Beauty reveals itself through a layered experience — one that engages the senses, the emotions, and something deeper within.

The Beauty We Live

Reflecting on this, I wonder if beauty has always been this: a felt experience in the body as much as a visual one. And if this is true for the outer world, perhaps it can also be true for the beauty we carry within.

How do I claim my own beauty?

Not only through a reflection in the mirror, but through how I feel.

Through the softness of fabric on my skin.

Through clothing that allows me to feel at home in my body, rather than judge it.

Through the feeling of alignment — of creating something that truly resembles me.

Of making work that speaks from lived experience and resonates deeply within.

Should we then speak of intimate beauty, essential beauty, or simply the experience of beauty itself?

Is this where harmony emerges — not because everything is orderly or neat, but because something feels true and aligned with the soul?

The Beauty That Connects

This beauty does not exist solely within oneself; it also reveals itself through relationships.

In sincere conversations.

In a presence that asks for nothing.

In moments where we feel welcomed exactly as we are.

Perhaps beauty fully manifests when it moves from one being to another.

Is it, then, transcendent?

Living the Holiday Season Differently

As the holiday season approaches, these reflections take on a different tone.

What should be a gentle time often becomes heavy — filled with expectations, obligations, and constant presence. We sometimes find ourselves exhausted, searching for magic without having had the space to feel it.

So I ask myself:can we experience the holidays beautifully — differently?

Perhaps by choosing the encounters that truly nourish us.

By allowing ourselves pauses, however brief.

By saying no when our bodies say no.

By letting go of what is meant to impress,

and returning to what genuinely moves us.

A Simple, Imperfect, and True Beauty

What if beauty lived in this simplicity:

being where we breathe more freely, with those who bring us peace, in moments that are imperfect yet real?

A beauty that asks for no performance.

Only a sincere presence — to oneself and to what truly matters.

A harmony between our environment, our relationships, our bodies, and our true self.

Perhaps what I am really searching for, is a beauty that feels harmonious, authentic — and quietly transcendent.