Beauty from within...

"Do you think you look good?"- A question so simple yet so profound. It is a question for the strong hearted and the perceptive mind. (definitely not for me) Nevertheless, I was given the honour of answering the question when a friend of mine posed me with the question about a week ago. Being my modest self, I answered "no", which of course is what I honestly think of myself. But whether I look good or not, that is besides the point.
The point is that people nowdays are beginning to cherish good looks like never before. To a certain extent, looks have become an invaluable asset to the human race. It is often exploited and used to oneself's advantage. i.e. Misleading people by creating impressions what we are not, thus, earning recognition not due to ourselves.
It is saddening to know that the human race is becoming more and more dependant on looks to survive. The outward beauty of the human flesh has so largely influence our lives at times it seems that looks itself play a major role in determining where one would be in the near future. After giving this subject much thought, many questions came to mind. Among one of the questions is "what about inward beauty?"
Shouldn't inward beauty be given the same importance as of the outward self? By all means, it should be. However, it is easy to talk about the obvious and things that are seen- the outward self. But the inner self cannot be seen. It comprises of feelings and emotions and it is governed by the mental faculty by which we stay alive. Therefore it is hard to judge the inner self, for the inner self is untangible and merely a perception in essence. This often leads to the biased judgement of a person, for the inner self is usually left out.
It is important therefore, not to judge a book by its cover, but by its content. One can have the most horrid look in the world but yet have the sweetest heart. We must all learn to look deeper into one's self and not be so shallow. Beauty after all, is fleeting. It will pass away with time. More importantly, we must all learn to appreciate and cherish inner beauty.
With full knowledge that the outward look doesn't really matter much, I can say with confidence that I am not good looking. But I am beautiful inside. The singer Christina Aguillera once sang a song which chorus goes:

I am beautiful no matter what they say,
Words can't bring me down,
I am beautiful in every single way,
Yes, words can't bring me down,
So don't you bring me down today.

Indeed, what others think doesn't matter much. Good looks don't matter much. But beauty from within...