Vanity - Pride in or admiration of one's own appearance or achievements.
Mirrors, the bane of any humble soul.
The retail outlet in which I work is plastered with mirrors. I wouldn't consider myself excessively narcissistic or vain but the difficulty that presents itself in tearing my eyes away from any reflective surface is damn scary.
Considering this, it strikes me as strange that vanity is thought of as such a negative trait; we are assaulted daily by media magicians telling us we're beautiful no matter the size, shape or colour we happen to be endowed with and yet as we witness people catching their own reflection in a Vauxhall Astra wing mirror, pausing for a quick stare.... we judge, I know I do it, and I find it upsetting.
It is sad to me because although I agree that aesthetic value should not be the Summum Bonum, I cannot help but wonder; Why do we want those who enjoy their own reflections to not enjoy their own reflections? Is it jealousy? Is it disgust?
If make-up, new clothes, working out and preening are considered so important in garnering compliments from the big wide world, then why is it that we shun those that feel they deserve the compliments? Now don't get me wrong, I look down upon the bicep tensing, duck faced masses as much as the next high-horsed keyboard wielding Judge Dredd, but why? This is what intrigues me so much. Why do I despise them for wanting the acceptance that so many wish for but keep within a mirrors mind?
Maybe I'm writing this to convince myself that any vain act I carry out is not so bad after all, maybe I want to convince myself that I won't be judged by the witness of a quick glimpse at myself in the toilets of the university library.... Or maybe I'm just so vain and narcissistic that I truly believe people will want to read this vacuous crap.
Whatever the conclusion, when you're having a good twirl in front of the wardrobe mirror, staring at yourself for hours in the bathroom or checking yourself out in a well reflected café window, not giving a fuck when the people on the other side laugh - remember, almost all of us do it, we're just too vain to admit it.
“People say sometimes that beauty is superficial. That may be so. But at least it is not so superficial as thought is. To me, beauty is the wonder of wonders. It is only shallow people who do not judge by appearances. The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible.”
― Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray
Those were some interesting (and needed, I might add) thoughts upon the subject of vanity.
ReplyDeleteI find it strange how aesthetic expression in the form of art (paintings, music, poems) is encouraged, while it is commonly viewed as distasteful to try to achieve the same kind of aesthetic enjoyment in your appearance. Why must art have such a rigid definition? I appreciate beauty in whatever form it presents itself.
I feel like I understand you.
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