Beauty is subjective. When seeking opinions on “The Most Beautiful Places in the World”, a fascinating series of photographs by Ester Honig surfaced in the search[1]. Honig starts with a basic self-portrait and then adjusts, aka “Photo-shops”, the image based on cultural norms. What’s perceived as pretty in the United States, for example ,not surprisingly looks different in Argentina, Italy and India. 
ARGENTINA
ITALY
INDIA
When traveling we often notice differences in how people look. Sometimes the exotic creates discomfort. Other times, local dress inspires us. We revel in experiencing another view of beauty versus judging it. Imagine if we brought a fairer, more open discernment in what we’re “seeing” to our daily lives. We’d enjoy and converse with more people.
That’s not to say that outward appearance, especially when different from what we’ve experienced at home, doesn’t intimidate and even scare us. Yet, honing our observational skills can help. When meeting a stranger, we might look for “laugh lines”, observe their eye color (unless it’s a cultural taboo to look directly), and or seek out a smile instead of focusing on outward appearance. If we pause enough to give a greeting and notice a response from the person before us, we’ll interrupt the “fight or flight” response. We’ll be able to be with whomever is in front of us, including someone we don’t know.
Being busy, we often take the physical act of seeing for granted. There’s so much to see…so much beauty in the simple observation. Although what attracts one person to another is dissimilar, even within homogenous societies, the difference is just in what we think we see! Sometimes we’re like the large horses pulling buggies around Central Park: we look straight ahead wearing blinders. Let’s look around! Let’s see more!
Traveling in our daily life, near and far, strengthens our sense of sight. We can use our eyes to cultivate broader, potentially more enriching experiences, wherever we are and with whomever! If we want to see more, we can. Observing more means living with awe versus judgment, just like a traveler.
Yes, beauty is “in the eye of the beholder”. Beautiful places, beautiful people…they’re all waiting to be seen!
[1] “These Photoshopped Portraits Show How People Define Beauty In 19 Different Countries” by Aaron Taube, June 26th, 2014; Business Insider; http://www.businessinsider.com/how-19-different-countries-define-beauty-2014-6
