Fantasy, beauty and art


My wife asked me to stop at a convenience store so she could purchase a soda. As I pulled into a parking spot, I noticed a woman in her early thirties cleaning out her car in a spot next to me. She was leaning over the seat with the door fully open exposing the fullness of her bottom half.

This could be a fantasy of many men, and possibly a few women. She was wearing very thin and very tight sweat pants. Every ripple and line of her body was clearly visible. Her thighs fell in waves down the length of her pants, stopping somewhere just above her ankles. After retrieving her waste from the car, she walked in front of me to the trash receptacle. Her thin, white tee shirt revealed her nipples, resting on her belly in the neighborhood of her belly button. Yes, there will be times when the reality just doesn’t live up to the fantasy.

Now, we can’t ignore the fantasies of you ladies, who will subject yourself to a mind-numbing hour of televised nonsense of absolutely no interest to you just to see the aforementioned revolutionary new $25 face lift or $15 Botox remedy. We all have our fantasies. The men predominantly fantasize about the ladies, while the ladies mostly fantasize about them self. It seems to work.

As men, we may question a woman’s obsession with lotions, potions, makeup, and makeovers. We puzzle over the time and attention you put into so many minute details of your appearance. Yet, we do appreciate the final result. You are works of art, beauty in motion. You encourage us to care more for our own appearance, sucking in our guts, and sticking with our exercise routines.

When we see something or someone beautiful, we are filled with appreciation. When we see something less than attractive, we are reminded of our desire for beauty, and of our efforts to attain it. We are all seeking beauty. We can find it in many places, both within and without ourself. Just because we don’t see it externally doesn’t mean it isn’t there. Sometimes we just need to look a little deeper.

Art is in the eye of the beholder, and beauty is in every eye. Very few of us can meet the high mark of being truly beautiful in body, though every single one of us has within us the seeds of a truly beautiful heart and mind.