Beauty is truly "in the eye of the beholder", to quote a well-worn cliché. And it's only a problem as a goal, if it's out of proportion to other admirable qualities. Beauty is basic to art and to spirituality as well. Shakespeare praised it in his sonnets.

Some writers I follow on Medium highlight its value through showing beautiful works of art.

I wish more value was placed on the "esthetic" aspect of writing on Medium.

I have at last recognised that my super sensitive side might be outside the norm. I fit in with the criteria of a highly sensitive empath, including being intuitive and taking on others' feelings.

I suffered for a long while with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) from childhood trauma, which had led to depression and anxiety in adulthood. In order to heal, I had to find the cause or triggers, by going back in time into childhood events, both positive and negative. The major one was my favourite brother's near-death accident from a pony when I was six and he was eight.

Therapy and "active imagination" à la Carl Jung led me, via therapy and writing in a journal to throw off neuroses. I can now look you in the eyes, but it took a lot of practice.

I have wide-set hazel/green eyes, and a not-too-large nose. My face is oval shaped, open rather than closed and I laugh and smile a lot, except when I'm anxious. I'm introverted, but have a rich inner life.

Luckily, I'm married to a European-looking man with gorgeous lips and abundant silvery-grey hair. He's short-sighted and he thinks I'm beautiful and perfect! You could compare him to a handsome, aging rock star. He's good with hearing and loves listening to all sorts of music, particularly classical. I've got a good eye for photography, so together we form a whole: hearing and seeing. Like me, he's a bit of a workaholic, but he has a sense of humor, sometimes bordering on the Dad Jokes side of things. I love him to the moon and back, to mimic my grandsons.

Since I healed through creative writing and the imagination, I have continued to follow this passion through a blog and on Medium. I like using irony and aiming for unity and structure in my writing. I am interested in emotions and love in all of its incarnations as important themes for me. How to live a good life is important too, but it's something unique to each individual, and I don't feel qualified to tell others how to do so. So is how to approach having a good and peaceful dying experience when the time comes.

Fighting fake news and saving the planet are necessary goals for all of us.

I love swimming and walking for exercise and eating healthy food. My grandmother used to say that if you haven't got your health you haven't got anything. It's much more important than looks.