Beauty Is In the Eye of the Beholder

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder....yeah right! There are so many sound bites much like this one that, although we want to believe are true, we know society does not support. More and more our culture is clinging to the idea that younger, thinner and more beautiful is the way to go. Gossip rags are filled with stories of celebrities who either have had plastic surgery, too much plastic surgery, eating disorders and/or in various stages of losing weight. Then there are those rags that love to publish photos of our favorite stars at their very worst; walking their dogs in their pajamas, stuffing a burrito down their throats, fighting with their wife/husband/girlfriend/boyfriend/significant other in public or, the very worst, bending over while wearing a bikini at the beach. We love to see them all glammed up, but there's something about seeing them with greasy hair, a ratty baseball cap and sunglasses that is satisfying as well. We long to be like them (i.e. reality shows like 'The Swan' and 'Extreme Makeover'), but at the same time, we want them to be more like us. It seems we are all in a race to keep age and/or pounds at bay, but the bar is always getting higher and higher. At what point do we all say enough and just accept the status quo? At what point do we really count our blessings and prioritize what's really important? Maybe someday there'll be a reality show about people going out into world (celebrity driven, of course), doing volunteer work or something really worthwhile and that will become the thing to achieve.....nah, the show would probably tank after the first airing.