What is Beauty? @ Royal Oak

Please arrive at 6:45pm to order your drinks/food so that we can start the event at 7pm with minimum interruption. Thank you.

What is beauty?

Beauty is all around us, but it is also one of the hardest things to define. We recognize beauty instantly, yet struggle to explain why it moves us, or why what one person finds beautiful may leave another untouched. Beauty lives in the tension between the universal and the personal, the outer and the inner, the seen and the felt.

For centuries, philosophers and artists have tried to understand the essence of beauty. The ancient Greeks spoke of symmetry and proportion, of harmony that reveals truth. For them, beauty was an ideal that reflected balance and order in the world. Later, Romantic thinkers shifted the focus inward. They found beauty in emotion, imagination, and in the wild. Today, we ask: is beauty something we find, or something we create within ourselves as we experience the world?

Beauty can live in form and colour, in movement, sound and letters. But it can also live in spirit, in kindness, courage, wisdom, and authenticity. Sometimes it shines through a smile, a gesture, or a moment of grace. Sometimes it reveals itself quietly, in the resilience of an old tree, the lines on a weathered face, or the calm after a storm.

Modern life, however, often distracts us from this. Images and ideals flood our screens, suggesting that beauty is something to achieve, display, or preserve. But perhaps true beauty lives not in what is flawless, but in what feels real, in vulnerability, strength, simplicity, and contrast.

To ask “What is beauty?” is to ask: what do we notice, what do we value, what makes us come alive? Our sense of beauty reflects who we are and how we see the world. It can be a way of connecting to each other, to nature, and even something greater than ourselves.

During our discussion, we will explore these questions together:

• What is beautiful to you, and why?
• Do you think beauty is objective (universal) or subjective (personal)? Can it be both?
• Describe the most beautiful thing you have ever seen. What made it beautiful?
• How do you distinguish between external and internal beauty? Are they connected or separate?
• Is there a difference between natural beauty and human-created beauty?
• Can something imperfect, aged, or broken still be beautiful?
• How does culture shape or influence what we perceive as beautiful?
• Is youth inherently beautiful? Can maturity, resilience, or experience can be equally beautiful?
• Does knowing the story or struggle behind something make it more beautiful? If yes, why?
• How has your perception of beauty changed as you’ve grown older or faced challenges?
• If beauty can be found everywhere, what can we do to find more beauty every day?