We hear this expression thrown about quite often, yet, what does beautiful, inside
and out really mean?
Today we live in a world where more is better, and loud seems to win out.
Where beauty, status, and all things shiny, call out to us on a daily basis.
We are subliminally swayed; by consumerism over integrity, and finishing first, versus a job well done. The outward kind of beauty is loud and screaming our name. We are most certainly responding.
Seeking admiration and “likes” by showcasing who may be the “fittest, flashiest, or best traveled”, contrasts sharply with the less focused on, but far more impressive character traits of things like humility, honesty, and perseverance.
Giving into the desire, (myself included), we have all fallen for the allure of what “seems” good. Those “beautiful things” are everywhere we look.
And usually, the promise of what they claim to deliver does hold true, and things are “good”, for a brief period of time.
As I was coming up with what to name my counseling practice, integrating the message of “beauty (or what is “good”) inside and out”, seemed right.
The draw of things that appear good is enticing.
Yet, with each passing year, I am learning that those benefits, although not necessarily bad, consistently prove temporary.
I find more often than not, that unless there is something substantial, something bigger than I, and intrinsically beautiful, holding it all together, it can not, and will not sustain.
And so, as I write, engage, talk about, and see the word “Kalos”, I am exposed to these life changing reminders on a daily basis.
Beautiful in the common sense of the word is far from “bad.” It is actually amazing. It is only when we are upside down in our thinking, preferring the outward, over the more substantial, that we get turned around. Can you imagine what would happen if we shifted our focus of beauty, and became a culture who prioritized the inward?Relationships, community, our very hearts. So much would change.
So Kalos it is. Beauty- inside and out.
