Article June 23, 2003 Issue

'The recipe for beauty'

Luisella Jaques-Deraney with contributions from Sara Conteddu

Sara Conteddu lives in Gressan, Italy, in the province of Aosta. She worked for 30 years as a hairdresser and beautician, owning her own business. Her study of Christian Science has showed her that what makes us beautiful and attractive is something beyond body image — something spiritual that we each have from God alone. Luisella Jaques-Deraney, who is Managing Editor of the French magazine Le Heraut de la Christian Science, had a conversation with Mrs. Conteddu, who is now a Christian Science practitioner, in her native Italian.

What do you think are the consequences of people's identification with beauty or the body?

An exaggerated sense of their own condition — that is, if they're homely, they tend to put themselves down, to sulk, be sad and always dissatisfied. If they're pretty, they adore themselves and their physique narcissistically, so much that they don't really take care of that true beauty that each one of us has inside. We often hear it said, "That person isn't very pretty, but she's beautiful inside." But people don't pay too much attention to those words. And those words are truly correct. It's not the exterior that's beautiful, but the inside. And that's where the beauty that is seen originates.

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