inner beauty

In a dimly lit lodge room, an older Freemason leans toward a younger brother. ‘See those cracks in the ceiling?’ he asks quietly. ‘Some want to plaster over them, but they tell the story of this building. Without those lines, it would be a soulless space.’ The younger brother nods thoughtfully — while outside, the world grows ever more obsessed with erasing every perceived flaw. A Fivefold Increase That Raises Deeper Questions Reports of botched cosmetic procedures involving injectable treatments have increased fivefold in recent years. Behind that statistic lie personal tragedies: people who sought enhancement and ended up with scars, infections, or permanent disfigurement. But perhaps behind this troubling trend lies a deeper question — one that touches the very core of what it means to be human. Why are we so willing to risk our health for an appearance that conforms to some external ideal? The philosopher Michel de Montaigne wrote in the sixteenth century about the human compulsion to correct what is imperfect. In his essays, he reflected on the paradox that we often place more value on what others think of us than on who we truly are. That observation is more relevant today than ever. […]