The Timeline on How Beauty Affects Us

 A well known relationship expert by the name of Carlos Xuma made this lengthy but insightful comment on how beauty affects men: 

"There's a dark, evil candy out there that men eat all the time, and they don't even realize
they're eating. Of course, it's not LITERALLY candy. But it works the same way, and guys are losing their power in the dating world because of it. That candy is "Beauty." It's been demonstrated in study after study that men's decision making ability is impaired by looking at beautiful women. But here's something you might not know about the insidious effects of beauty on the male mind... A woman's beauty is ADDICTIVE to your mind. That's right. Just looking at a beautiful woman releases pleasure chemicals in your brain, making you feel good just by LOOKING at her. You don't have to have any contact with her, or even any conversation. It just happens when you SEE her. There are certain chemical "rewards" that your brain releases when you do certain things, which then reinforces that behavior. Is that crazy, or what?

You probably don't have to hear the science behind it to know this is true. Have you ever seen a woman that you just couldn't stop looking at? Her eyes, her lips, her body... it was all so hard to NOT look at. Just a woman's face can fascinate us to the point of distraction. It even makes us do crazy things like stare at her. Before you know it, we're being creepy when we're really just in awe of her beauty.

This is one case where your biology is sabotaging your results. Your natural desire and awe of beautiful women puts you in a place where you start to OVER value them. That's right, you actually start to invent value for her based solely on her appearance. In just a few minutes of talking to one of these women, you risk slipping into something I call the pedestal dance. This is where you put her up on a pedestal - in your mind, and then reinforce this belief that she's a prize to be won based solely on her looks. She's a trophy, after all. A chick you could show off to your friends and they would envy you. But have you really checked her out?"         

 In two past posts, I had written about the world’s view and value on beauty and God’s view and value on beauty. On this post I will be looking at six ways beauty affects us. The points are as follows. 

(1.)  The Bestowment of Beauty: The truth is not everyone is born beautiful. However, to the one’s who are born attractive, they have been endowed with a gift to show God’s beauty and to bring Him honour and glory.

(2.)  The Benefit of Beauty: Such people who are beautiful or handsome have it quite easy in today’s society. They enjoy the benefits of favor, influence, and social popularity that most average people have to work hard to get.

(3.)  The Bewitchment of beauty: There is a power and charm that is associated with beauty. It can be used for either good or evil purposes. Since beauty commands attention, it is often used for selfish ends.

(4.)  The Bewilderment of Beauty: Sometimes beauty can leave us stunned and confused. It can disillusion us at times.

(5.)  The Betrayal of Beauty: Physical beauty in a person can be quite deceiving at times. For example, when we see a very beautiful woman, we assume she is going to be a great person to meet. However, sometimes this can lead to disappointment when we find out she is not so lovely in the heart. Then there are those who happen to marry a beautiful spouse. But over time that attractive spouse either loses their beauty through a disease, or disfigurement through a accident or fire, or through the unkind processes of aging. It is then that the other spouse feels betrayed. Indeed beauty is enchanting, but it is both deceptive and vain. Never put your trust in it.

(6.)  The Bereavement of Beauty: Often, when beautiful women past the flower of age, and their beauty begins to fade, they go through a process of bereavement at the loss of their power in beauty. They need to be reminded that their true beauty is not just how they look on the outside, but how they are in the inside. Sadly, society has done much to put the focus on valuing outer beauty, while ignoring the great worth of inner beauty. There is two aspects to beauty:

(a.) Outer beauty—Its drawing power; to invoke interest and initiate contact;

(b.) Inner beauty—Its staying power; to keep interest and build a deeper connection.

There is a documentary I watched one time that interviewed an older woman who was an expert on the topic of beauty and aging. She said that the duration of physical beauty of a woman varies in each woman. The average attractive North American woman usually keeps her good looks around 6 to10 years before her beauty begins to fade. Some may sustain it longer depending on their genetic make up and how they take care of themselves.