Keyword for the week: Vanity.
When you hear the word “beauty” and “vanity”, you might be wondering what could be the relationship between this two independent words.
Beauty, like we all know is always centered around the physical appearance, the looks, attraction and actions that brings about admiration.
While vanity considering the subject matter talks more of the pride, arrogance that one gets from been too beautiful or receiving constant attention and praise, which can contribute to a sense of entitlement. When this beauty starts fading away due to old age, the obsession comes in. You see people doing all manner of plastic surgeries just to maintain that beauty.
Let me share a short story to explain it better.
In lagos city, there lives this gorgeous lady called Cynthia. She was so obsessed with her beauty that each time she passes any mirror or object that would reflect her face, she’ll stand for awhile to admire herself. The admiration and compliments she got from both male and females grew her vanity and made her so proud and arrogant. She couldn’t stand the site of blemishes or wrinkles on her face. She used every cream available and plastic surgery to maintain her beauty.
It was her 26 years old birthday and gifts were trooping in but an old lady who knew her obsessions with beauty decided to give her a magic mirror that doesn’t show only the outermost beauty but also the inner beauty.
When she got the magic mirror, she was intrigued by the ornaments used to beautify the mirror. She gazed at the mirror expecting to see her pretty face only to see the reflection of her pretty face fading away and was overcome by cruelty , covetousness, pride, self centered. She threw the mirror away out of fear.
She became so worried throughout that day because of what the mirror had revealed. She knew there was more to that mirror. That it could also show her inner character. She went to were she threw the mirror and stared at it one more time. She was amazed that the mirror could show her inner beauty and it was nothing to write home about.
She felt so ashamed of herself and started working on her inner beauty. As months passed by, she learned the value of compassion, humility, and the true essence of inner beauty that goes beyond the outermost beauty. As her character started to change, the magic mirror could show her, her true reflection and she was happy with the woman she was becoming.
The once proud and arrogant Cynthia became a symbol of humility and generosity in Lagos. She finally realized that the essence of true beauty lies in our character and the love we show to one another and not in vanity.
In Conclusion, while beauty are our innate qualities given to us by God, vanity is having a ridiculous amount of pride in your appearance
I believe that inner and outer beauty harmonise very well and can go hand in hand... It's only when the outer beauty is travelling solo that it becomes unpleasant.