Virtue or Sin? Vanity...

I was having my daily shower, as usual. Nothing bad was happening, no sudden lightning bolt struck me, and my shower didn't turn suddenly red with blood spurting from the showerhead.

But then, I looked down at myself, and I had this sudden thought.

"Oh god, look at me, I'm fat!"

And then I looked at my arms, and I went,

"Hmmm, well, I didn't see those last year."


And then I thought about what I said, and I had this philosophical argument with myself again.

Vanity, is it a virtue, or a sin?

Now, I'm not talking about vanity like girls going, "Oooh, I've got freckles... I'm ugly~!" Well, okay, so I am talking about that kind of vanity, but I'm also talking about other forms of vanity, and vanity as a whole. Both the positive, and negative, aspects of vanity. Does one side outweigh the other? Does it outweighing the other turn it into a virtue or sin? Or maybe it doesn't matter?

Well, first of all, we have the negative vanity, which most of us are intimate with, personally intimate with. For example, some girls going, "Ew, that dress looks so out of date, if I wear it, I'll be like an ugly duckling in front of my friends." or, "Maybe I shouldn't eat that much, all my other friends have such great figures." Boys? They'd be going, "Dammit. I have three freaking chins. Gotta do more workout, or I'll look like a chum beside that six pack body." or "My biceps are smaller than his. Better do some pushups or I'll look stupid when showing off our arms." Oh, and don't forget critical vanity, when you criticise others.

"Oooh, look at her, she's so fat. Yuck." "Man, look at those freckles on his face, like volcano eruption." "Oh come on, those clothes were so in, like, eighty years ago?" "Haha, he's got his pants pulled up to his stomach, can you believe that nerd?" "My homes' window panes are thinner than his glasses." "Is that a bug, or is that a big bug?"

Don't forget, jealousy.

"I bet you those *ahem* of hers are fake. Plastic, homemade, most likely." "Her skirt's so short, does she think she's sexy, oh, for goodness sake." "He's got big muscles alright. Great physique. I bet you he's all brawns and no brains." "He thinks sunglasses are cool? Well, I curse him to have it confiscated by the teachers." "So what if he's fit, he probably smells from all that working out."

And I haven't even run half the gamut yet. So, before we continue, what exactly is vanity? Consciousness, or over-consciousness as case may be, of the appearance or impact an item has on a person's image. So, is being vain good? So far, not good. But we haven't gone through the whole story yet right? There's negative vanity, there's also positive.

For example:

"Hey, she's got a veggie stuck in her teeth, better tell her before she goes to see her crush." "I've just finished working out, do I smell bad? Better put on some deordorant, let the class not be distracted." "I'd better tuck in my shirt, or I'd bring down the school's reputation." "I'd better urge him to go on a diet, or he might get heart problems later in life!" "Maybe wearing jeans isn't a good idea, it is my sister's wedding, afterall." "My performance is next week, better take good care of my skin, otherwise freckles will pop out. Can't let my instructor down..."

Now, it actually seems virtuous to be vain in those scenarios, don't it? But then, where do we draw the line? At which point would vanity cease to be a virtue, and degenerate into a sin? Must we ever be conscious of this distinction? Is being conscious of our degree of vanity being vain? Is that good or bad?

More importantly, was my thoughts in the shower a show of virtue, or a slip of sin?

^^ Have fun figuring it out, and don't forget to tell me your answers in my tagboard. Oh, and no flaming please, I've got an email (fully equiped with junkmail protections) for that.

Adieu

Looking to the future~
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