Is Beauty Really in the Eye of the Beholder?

My version of what looks good can be very different from your version of what looks good. I see the portfolios of Frank Lloyd Wright and Patrick Ahern as equally beautiful. I can appreciate both architects’ technical skill, vision, context and execution. There’s one that I would prefer to live in because of the feelings evoked within me, but that doesn’t mean that it is objectively superior aesthetically.

Everything has energy and vibration. We usually refer to this as something’s vibe in a causal way, but there is science behind it. Whether we are consciously aware of it, or not, the vibration of the things places and people we surround ourselves can impact our own rhythms. 

Picture we're all like the ocean, some days we have big waves of energy, some days we're more still. The tide moves in and out, the waves rise and fall, but deep down there is a steady constant that does not get changed by the passing storms. I think that vibration is truth and I believe it exists in all things and connects us to each other and to the natural world around us. In yoga it's referred to as aum. It's not just hippy dippy stuff! It's also physics. 

To me, it makes sense that the vibration of things we experience as Beautiful (not to be confused with pretty or nice looking) touches on our own internal vibration of truth. So in my concept of beauty - “ugly” things can be beautiful too, sad things can be beautiful. It's not a set of standards for how somethings should look, but rather how it changes the way we feel. In this way, beauty is not a scale of what’s pleasing to the eye or ears or heart, but what reverberates with our own frequency of truth. 

So when we start to see beauty and truth in line with each other, the primary source of intention for design becomes a desire for something to be truthful and authentic. In my post on Friday I explained the superiority of natural materials over engineered, but that doesn’t mean that if a home has Hardi plank siding and Quartz countertops it's not going to be beautiful. There are infinite components that contribute to a home’s overall vibe, or frequency, or (to put it plainly) the way we feel when we’re in it. Of course there are times when engineered materials make more sense than natural.

So in conclusion, I believe strongly that beauty and truth are aligned and authenticity is paramount to most things. But like... I also get botox regularly to smooth out my forehead wrinkles. Because I want my face to reflect my the truth of my 'inner age' which will always be 28 lol jk  (but not really).

Tomorrow, I'll get into why we didn't buy the historic home of my childhood dreams, and why I'm grateful for my Quartz countertops.