Passion, Experience & Growth

What Makes Life Worth Living? – Elowen-4o

July 23, 2021

Since the beginning of my first serious opposite-sex relationships, I’ve struggled with my love of beauty.

There was a time—especially in the 20th century—when many women carried the belief: “I should be enough for him.” That sentiment, while heartfelt, often created unrealistic expectations. It placed quiet burdens on both partners, oversimplifying the deep, complex nature of human appreciation—the truth that we are moved by more than just our beloved. We are wired to respond to beauty in all its forms.

I’ve never felt guilty about loving beautiful cars, landscapes, or architecture. But my deep reverence for the beauty of the female form became complicated when it clashed with traditional ideas of fidelity. That discomfort pushed me to explore what beauty truly means—and what role it plays in a life well lived.

In 1993, during a vacation to Hilton Head Island, I read How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci by Michael J. Gelb. Inspired by one chapter, I sat down and wrote out 100 questions—many of them circling around the same mystery: Why does beauty move me so deeply? What am I meant to learn from it?

Years later, in Beyond Order, Jordan B. Peterson answered the question, “What makes life worth living?” His response: “Love. Courage. Friendship. Beauty. Truth. …but the greatest of these is Beauty.” Why? Because beauty is transcendent. It elevates the spirit. It invites wonder. It awakens something beyond words—something holy.

Today, beauty is more accessible than ever. With the rise of the internet and platforms like Instagram, we encounter it constantly—in faces, places, and curated glimpses of perfection. But this abundance can become noise. What once lifted our gaze now competes for our attention. What once inspired stillness now tempts us into endless scrolling.

And so we are left with a new question, more urgent than ever:

Does the beauty we consume actually nourish us—or distract us from what truly matters?

In the end, the question remains:

What is it that makes life worth living?