IRRESISTIBLE Beauty
What do you find irresistible?
For some, it’s an adorable puppy, dark chocolate, or a fast car. Whatever it is, if it’s truly irresistible, it’s magnetic. It pulls you into a deeper experience. No matter how much you resist, you find that in the end, it must be yours. To use our examples, the puppy must be adopted (or at least cuddled), the dark chocolate must be eaten (or at least nibbled), and the fast car must be acquired (or at least driven). They “must be” yours because they are irresistible.
In a related way, it seems to me that aesthetic beauty is universally irresistible. Its magnetic power attracts all people, from the most aesthetically learned to the most aesthetically ignorant. Though a bit comical, the latter is illustrated in the way Frankenstein’s monster responds to music in the 1935 classic The Bride of Frankenstein. He’s drawn to it and “melted” by it in this scene:
Many people today – certainly, not you, dear reader! – are “aesthetic Frankensteins.” They’ve little-to-no training or interest in true aesthetic beauty. Indeed, our culture in general is so confused about beauty that even the learned can be totally lost in their (mis)understanding of such things. Still, because beauty is universally irresistible, it attracts all without fail.
Another good (and less monster-freakish) example of this is the way all kinds of people show up to behold the sunset at the beach. I’ve observed this phenomenon on beaches all over the world; most recently, at Coquina Beach on the Gulf Coast of Florida. As the sun was going down, people spread out across the sand and stood quietly watching the sky. Many pulled out their phones to take pictures and videos. When the sun finally dipped below the sea’s horizon, many clapped. Irresistible beauty had struck again.
It would be so interesting to interview those who came out to watch the sunset on Coquina that evening. “So, why did you come out tonight to see the sunset?” I’d ask. In the silence that followed, I might suggest, “Perhaps you found it strangely irresistible? Perhaps, for reasons you can’t truly explain, you just wanted to experience its mysterious, soul-touching refreshment?”
In truth, I wouldn’t expect anyone to provide a lengthy or thoughtful answer. And to me, that’s totally fine because in a sense, it doesn’t matter. The point is that the sunset-gazer “gave in” to their indescribable and mysterious urge. They let beauty’s magnetic power pull them in. And in so doing, they experienced the pleasures that follow.
If nothing more, perhaps this humble reflection is a plea to recognize beauty’s irresistibility in your life and to give in to it as much as possible. Do what it takes to let yourself get “caught up” in its magnetic pull: stop the car, change the schedule, hit “pause,” linger a while, slow down and observe, and savor beauty.