Beauty is insidious. There is an almost impossible to arrest and
nearly imperceptible shift that takes place in the gap between appreciation and
acquisitiveness. Once spied, beauty is hardly left alone on shelf in the store,
in the images of a foreign land, in the lines of the body and curve of a face
that one admires. Even of books, we say we “devour” them if we like them. We
want to possess the beauty we see. I may have a perfectly sublime set of dishes
at home, clear crystal, but when I happen upon a completely gorgeous set of
tea cups -- white porcelain with gold metal accents—or a new innovative and
specialized gadget that at once clutters and complicates cleaning yet makes my
job of slicing, dicing, blending, or concocting just that much easier, I am
tempted. 
If a person has disposable income to any extent, the impulse
soon translates into a purchase. Why oughtn’t I to buy such and such if I can just
reach out or click and it is mine? The failure to question minimizes the
already miniscule window between appreciation of beauty and the possession of
it. The (relatively) rich may therefore morph these two to such a degree that
appreciation becomes only the motive to acquire. Beauty in-itself is lost. Those
who are unable to purchase at every whim yet observe that there are plenty in
the world who can and do, may develop a serious case of envy. Then the desire and
the lack in their lives becomes the focus, or else if they are particularly perseverant
individuals, the desire and the ambition to resolve it in purchases becomes a goal.
Such is the quest to become wealthy. 
The closing of the gap between appreciation of beauty and
acquisition of it is particularly problematic when it concerns the beauty of human
beings. To desire to possess a person teeters on disregard for their humanity,
and to desire to look like the person – if only I had her body, his muscles,
her hair color, to just have his hair! – oh then! Then, what? Then I would be,
if not happy, satisfied. Maybe not completely, but for a moment the focus on
the desire fades and there is relief from wanting. Relief from wanting is a type of happiness, and it is peace. But the peace only lasts as long as there is no other desire to acquire that takes its place. And it often lasts no more than a few moments.
What then is the solution? Is it wrong to want to possess something
beautiful? To hang an inspiring painting on your wall, to dress as if you’re a
Hollywood star, to get that second set of electronics or dishes, or whatnot? To
what degree it’s wrong is something worthy of analysis but not my focus here.
My focus here is rather on what we lose when we lose that almost imperceptibly
tiny gap between the appreciation of beauty and possession of it. For beauty
surely shines bright in itself, regardless of who is in possession of it,
because in some sense, whoever sees something beautiful, participates in it for
the time that they are in adoration of it, rather than possessing it. We become
more beautiful ourselves by lingering on the appreciation without thought to the
possession of it. We become freer and stronger, as well. The easiest way to experience
this shift, in my experience, is to become the wholehearted creator of beauty that
is not yours. So throw yourself into making something. It could be anything at all -- a picture slideshow for a friend, a craft with your kids, a sandcastle or a gardening project. Choose to create and give to see the wonderful shift that occurs when wanting is waning and beauty in-itself is joy.
The Philosophical Questions:
What is beauty? To what extent are we missing out when we
become possessors of or desirous of beautiful objects? Where is the line
between necessity and frivolity? To what extent do our characters suffer when
we indulge? Does the creation of beauty free us from acquisitive desire? Do we
dehumanize others and ourselves when we want to possess someone or become like
someone else?
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