Beauty is Saving the World
so why do we never talk about it? 🦋
The Breakout Rooms covered in this post:
Tech
Politics
Spirituality
Culture
"Beauty is power; a smile is its sword." – John Ray
When we think of the things which “save” the world, most people would probably suggest one or more of the following: heroic people, money, moral leadership, kindness, help, community.
None of these things are wrong. They all contribute towards helping the world for the greater good which is vital as help is our greatest human accelerator. Yet I think it’s really beauty – what it represents, does and activates within us – which is quietly yet powerfully saving the world, one moment at a time.
This is particularly important right now. Beauty often arises through nature, natural human moments, spontaneity and creativity – things which are threatened by climate change, the attention economy, brain rot and the role of AI in the creative process – and we shouldn’t take it for granted. This is why we need to speak openly about how and why the quality of beauty in a thing, person and moment is saving the world and replenishing and recharging us in the process.
As dramatic as it sounds, “saving the world” is something I’ve been thinking about in light of the sudden shifts in the world this year so far – from Trump’s reckoning in the U.S to the unexpectedly ferocious fires in LA – and who or what will swing the pendulum towards a world which doesn’t need saving from disasters and misfortunes. Can a world exist where it doesn’t need saving from something? Can a life be lived without being saved at some point? I doubt it. But that isn’t necessarily a negative thing.
Saving something – to be a hero and to risk something of yourself – is an important human endeavour. But the most persuasive way to solve the world and its riddles is not through the effort of trying and solving; it’s through the process of allowing, seeing and observing. This is what beauty and beautiful things enables and encourages.
Beauty – in all its forms – is so powerful because it provokes this process in such a delicate, gentle and subtle way, so much so that it can catch us off guard. And that’s where the source of its strength resides.
It’s no wonder that John Ray refers to a smile “as a sword.” So why don’t we ever explicitly discuss the practical role and influence of beauty and how it plays a significant role in saving the world?
If you enjoy reading this you might like:
There are two opposite states of existence. Living in a state of love or living in a state of fear. If you can live in a more loving state rather than a fearful one, you are emitting a more vibrant, peaceful and happy presence and aura.
There are times when moving and living from a place of fear can help us. It gets us out of unsafe situations and scenarios and urges us to move with immediate action. But to live in a state of fear all the time is stressful and energy-draining. We need saving if we are perpetually stuck in fear. But beauty saves us from fear because it nudges – and at times commands - us towards love, savouring and positivity.
Rather than focusing on low-energy thoughts such as what’s not working and what reduces our sense of security, beauty only focuses on pleasure and positivity. It’s why neuroaesthetics suggest that engagement with beauty is essential for our well-being.
Beauty is a high-vibrational state of being and living. Just think of the number of people you have met who have experienced a state of awe and wonder at something beautiful and how that has rubbed off on you. It’s a powerful ripple effect, isn’t it?
If we encounter beauty, it often makes our day, provokes us into feeling more alive somehow. This could be a beautiful flower, painting, person or moment. It could be as momentarily as spotting the sun in the sky to admiring a beautiful work of art. It encourages us to feel better, imagine more and embrace positive possibilities.
It’s through these moments of beauty which make life and living enriching as we want to immerse ourselves in it. And through immersion we find ourselves in a state of flow and certainty. In contrast, ugliness restricts and distorts us, making us doubt ourselves and others. Can you see and sense why beauty is a necessary force for good, and not just a secondary afterthought?
Trump, weirdly enough, is the only politician who talks about beauty all of the time – he wants to build a beautiful ballroom at the White House, promote beautiful federal architecture and will stop a news conference to tell an Afghan reporter that she has a beautiful accent. Politico claims that Trump’s favourite word is beautiful. Whether or not Trump knows or actually appreciates the beauty of all the things he claims is beautiful, he has tapped into the political power of using the word because he knows that beauty is a superpower that suspends humans in their thoughts and thinking.
If something is beautiful, we want to spend more time observing it and being within the experience of it. Beauty involves a lot of lingering; the concept of time just isn’t as important. Which is maybe why people in the AI and tech industry don’t talk about beauty unless it’s in the attempt to convert people to use a beauty-enhancing product. Beauty in AI or online form doesn’t exist. Beauty is a concrete experience which encompasses all the human senses, and expressions.
AI and tech prefers functionality and efficiency over beauty and its lingering effect. In contrast, beauty stimulates us by forcing us to understand ourselves and others, pulling us out of ourselves and into the depth of the present moment; something which is anathema to the world being creating by AI and tech with its emphasis on shallow attention, clicks and optimization.
Beauty relaxes us because it soothes the soul. We step into a state of awe – for one second, one minute or an hour – when something beautiful appears in our path. It can even feel sacred, a sense of the impossible becoming possible. Beauty adds abundance to our souls. It’s why religion utilises beauty in different forms. It does so to remind us that beauty is found in many places and spaces, that faith and hope can be found and fostered from the things which are a source of beauty.
Beauty is inspiring, hopeful and magical. It reminds us that whilst ugliness exists, its duality is found in beauty.
Rather than beauty being seen as a source of self-indulgence – the skin care regimes and unrealistic beauty standards – ironically it is the energy of beauty which subconsciously saves us because it’s the feeling which causes our soul and senses to awaken.
I suspect the more we talk about beauty and the feeling of beauty the more in tune we will become to the abundance it always offers to help us heal and grow into the best — and most beautiful — version of ourselves. What kind of world would that create?
Beauty is, in the aesthetic realm, the equivalent of goodness in the material realm. Beauty will indeed save the world, when we turn back to it.
Seeing beauty desecrated is deeply upsetting. I think in addition to choosing beauty….maybe I feel like doing more then that but I don’t know how or what