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A woman holds a torch during a ceremony in Greece. The word cosmetic comes from the Greek word “kosmos,” meaning the world, the orderly universe. (Jan Jekielek/The Epoch Times)
In the 19th century, Fyodor Dostoyevsky prophesied, “Beauty will save the world.”
Can it be that the world will be liberated by looks alone? Is the existentialist author referring to the physical beauty that women obsess over, or is it something beyond that?
Embracing the Divine Feminine
Much about true beauty can be understood by taking a look at the origin of the word cosmetic, from the Greek word kosmos meaning the world, the orderly universe.
“It was believed that people who had talents in kosmetics were in harmony with their environment, and that if people purified their inner domain, their outer beauty would be enhanced,” according to author and herbalist Brigitte Mars in her book “Beauty by Nature.”
Philosophers like Aristotle spoke of the Absolute as “to kalon,” the beautiful, as in all earthly beauty being a fragment or reflection of divine beauty.
By making the most of feminine beauty on earth, we are actually tapping into an ancient art that is literally cosmetic—bringing ourselves into alignment with the cosmos itself by maximizing our small part in its order and beauty.
Yet it is hard to know what is truly beautiful now, when we are bombarded by a standard that appears more artificial than real.
In today’s times, cosmetic treatments promise eternal youth, hair dyes guarantee that gray never grows in, and plastic surgery can nip and tuck everything else. The message that comes through is that if you are not young and flawless, you do not fit into the “beautiful” category.
The pressures for women to conform to waif-thin, perfectly coiffed, wrinkle- and blemish-free standards are high and lead to many image-related issues starting as young as age 5.
According to a CNN report, “One study found that one in four people is depressed about their body, another found that almost a third of women say they would sacrifice a year of life to achieve the ideal body weight and shape, and almost half of girls in a recent survey think the pressure to look good is the worst part of being female.”
Looking Within
Thanks to a growing number of celebrities and other voices for change, more and more people are shifting their priorities from external focus and superficial alterations to looking within and changing their internal environment. It is a shift that appears more aligned with the possibility of beauty delivering salvation.
This movement toward emanating true beauty from within is taking place on multiple levels from diet and nutrition to meditation and clearing the mind.
Dr. Norman Walker, the raw juice pioneer, has said, “Except for accidents, all the repair and regeneration of our body must come from within.”
Many estheticians and cosmetic websites agree and are predicting a new trend for beauty in 2012.
“This will be a year in which we will increasingly look to ourselves for answers,” Marta Wohrle says on her Truth In Aging website. The website’s mission is to offer truthful and unbiased guidance to people seeking to improve their health and appearance through skin care, hair care, health and beauty products, and salon and clinical treatments.
“We’ll want to find some inner peace and balance, feel good about ourselves … and after being so hunkered down we’ll be taking a broader view. So think holistic for 2012.”
