Some questions hit deep. 

They land inside the untouched parts of our brains that haven’t been mined for information yet.

They leave an itch that we can’t help but scratch. They bring us closer to who we are, simply because they make us look inside for the answers. 

Last week, the iconic Billy Porter was asked one of these questions, and it stuck with me. 

What is beauty? 

I panicked.

Okay, not really. But I drew a blank.

Billy Porter, though? He didn’t skip a beat: “Beauty is the capacity to love yourself.” 

With the recent controversy and discussion around toxic masculinity and who gets to wear a dress without judgment, I’d say we could all take Billy’s advice to heart. 

He is, perhaps without realizing it, speaking about Maitri, otherwise known as loving friendship with oneself and self-compassion. It’s an unconditional love that is always available to us if we grant ourselves the gift of it in our lives and do the deep, inner work. It sounds easy enough, but every day is a practice and one that comes with hurdles along the way. 

Billy Porter may have aced the definition of beauty, but he still has to live by that definition each day. We all do and that’s the work. 

Well, that and loving ourselves enough to let others shine. 

~

How do you define beauty?