Have you ever noticed how some people seem to carry a dark cloud with them, where ever they go? They walk into a room, and there’s an immediate feeling of yuck! The phrase, “sour puss” was meant for them. They tend to have more worry lines in their face and wear a permanent scowl. Then there are those who seem happy, no matter what the circumstance; people who walk into a room, and it brightens with goodness and purpose. Those are the people I gravitate toward.

Beauty is a characteristic of “how” a person makes you feel.

Why am I talking about negative and positive attitudes in a beauty article? I believe our inner thoughts affect our outer beauty. Beauty is not only about how you look, physically. It’s also how you make others feel. Experiencing beauty in others often involves perceiving them to be in balance and harmony with nature. In turn, when we view what we think of as beautiful, we tend to feel a sense of well-being. All is right with the world. Beauty is a characteristic of “how” a person makes you feel.

Since “beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” we all have our own ideas of what is beautiful in art, nature and people. Because beauty presents a standard for comparison, it can generate feelings of jealousy and inferiority. What I’ve found to be true is that in addition to the outer features, our personality, intelligence, grace and morality—and for me—elegance, is important in determining who is beautiful.

Each one of us has a desire to fit in and being beautiful is one way to be popular. We spend tens of millions of dollars—in this country alone—trying to become more beautiful. It saddens me because while many of us are focusing on the unattainable traits of others, we’re forgetting our own beautiful traits. In my mind, this leads to misery.

My life is spent seeking both inner and outer beauty. How about you?