Published via Ecency

@ladiesofhive dropped their weekly contest prompt, and I was really intrigued with one of the questions that @justclickindiva posed! I knew that I was going to make the time this week to be a part of this discussion!

It's a good one, right? A deep one. On the surface, you might be tempted to start finding reasons without examining a bit closer! I had to pause and contemplate: Does beauty really have NO functional purpose? Hmmm. I had to let this sink in for a bit, and let it roll over in my mind. After a a full day, I was ready to come back and drop my thoughts. I'm curious to see what you think!

Before I debated the functionality of beauty, I took a step back and considered this : How do I feel when I see something beautiful?

When I watch a beautifully sculpted athlete (like the dancers here on Sharkcookie), I am completely mesmerized.

_{Image is frame from video, click on image to head to YouTube}

For approximately 10 minutes, I watched short after short of these incredible artists! Each move took the body to new heights, soaring beyond what is capable for the typical human being. I found myself inspired and thinking back to my childhood when I danced for years. I started to imagine if I had stayed in my dance classes, would I have been able to train my body to these limits? Pushing farther, I wondered if I was too old to be able to do these things at my age now. (Don't worry, I'll not be trying any of these moves soon - I'd be liable to break a hip!🤣)

Next, I perused some images of beauty and came up with several shots of nature: pristine, majestic, powerful or delicate. Did I feel anything stirring in my soul as I pored over each image? I did. I was drawn to them. I felt emotions welling up: a sense of calm, wonder, awe, intrigue. I wanted to touch the soft petals of the flower and study the color patterns. I longed to stand at the base of the rock formation and stare up into its vastness. I craved to hold that diamond in my hand, twisting and turning as the prisms of color and refractions of light hypnotized me. I FELT.

Last, I played some music. Thanks to @erikah's post the other day, I sat spellbound as I listened to the masterful workings of Lizst's composition Hungarian Rhapsody, No. 2 - if you can watch the whole thing - be prepared. You WILL be awe-struck! Not only did Valentina Lisitsa execute this with flawless skill - but Lizst actually HEARD this beauty in his mind and brought it to life for us all. This beauty grew inside him until it had to be shared. This beauty connected across generations and cultures.

I was certain there were more expressions of beauty that I could conjure, but I had enough to begin writing. I think beauty does have a functional purpose. Its purpose is to stir us to life, to remind us that we are fashioned intricately, to motivate us to strive, to encourage us to seek the beauty within and share it with others, connecting beauty to beauty upon beauty.

Most of all, I believe its function is to connect us to the Designer and Creator of it all, so that we can draw closer to the Source of all beauty and bask in the overwhelming power of it all. To know Him and to be known by Him.

I believe that beauty is His calling card.