Meri's Musings

There is breathtaking beauty in the imperfect if we take the time to notice. Weathered bricks, faded paint. Laugh lines around the eyes. Strong hands that show a lifetime of labor through skin no longer taut. "Faded Glory" © 2009 Meri Arnett-Kremian The kind of beauty that is so much easier to see in the world of things, in the visages of others, than it is to recognize in ourselves. How are you imperfectly perfect ?

A community museum somewhere in the outskirts of the local area recently mounted an exhibition called "Suffer for Beauty." I didn't go see it because it just didn't fit into my schedule,  but it got me thinking about the ways that I have suffered  in the quest forbeauty on the outside, the place that seems to be of utmost importance in the American scheme of values. Maybe where you live, too. There are the obvious things, of course, like cramming my feet into high heels and teetering around town with feet that are screaming  and back that's trying to adjust its alignment and ankles threatening to twist just to stop the madness. I've also had abdominoplasty, a "tummy tuck", to pull my muscles back into alignment and cut out excessive skin and stretch what's left back together after repeated C-sections left my abdominal muscles a little lax. Hurt like hell (more than the C-sections) and the compression garments I had t...

Why is it so much easier for us to appreciate the patina of age when we see it right before our eyes than it is to fully celebrate the patina of age when it's looking back at us as our reflection in a mirror? What's your plan for becoming beautiful old ? And how do you define it?

I would so much rather be behind the camera being a voyeur of others' souls than be laid open to the world fearing I will be found wanting too plump not pretty enough too much too little Can you see my loving heart? Is my inner beauty shining through? That's what I want you to see. Look for that in my self portrait.