Beauty. It's one of those things that are both over-rated yet under-rated at the same time. People don't normally fail to notice and comment when beauty is evident outwardly - in the face or the body. But when beauty is in the soul or the mind, or if it is manifested in one's thoughts, writing or even a simple chuckle, it evades all attention and passes quietly. I've come to realize that so many beautiful people lay quietly hidden all around me.

In a competitive milieu where leadership qualities are prized and speaking out is a virtue that's extolled, the loud and outspoken gets noticed while the quiet is left behind. But when everyone's caught up in the bid to make a point vocally, it's the quiet one sitting unassumingly in the midst of all the noise and commotion that really gets noticed. Perhaps not by everyone, but I do notice.

Some of these people though seemingly passive, do possess the most beautiful of minds. And it's not the case of them being bad with words because when I do chance upon their writing, it's beautiful and it gives a sense of the beauty that resides in their mind. If only I learned to suspend my judgment and probe before summing things up, I would have noticed all the clandestine beauty that lay quietly cloaked in the shadows of those too eager to get noticed.

So often, the beautiful ones are those that can't be bothered with make-up, because they know it's what in their heart that matters. They are the ones that aren't caught up being vocal, because inside their minds, they are already loud enough. They are the one's that aren't filled with pride, because they are hardly even aware of how beautiful they really are.

For many, beauty ought to be redefined.