Enjoying Everyday Beauty
The universe is extremely generous. Beauty abounds in the most surprising locales and within even the most soul-searing experiences. We simply need to look for beauty and take the time to appreciate and digest what we see. I agree with Margaret Wolfe Hungerford’s quote: “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” but I would add that beauty is also in the beholder’s desire and ability to see.
The other night, I was gifted with an unexpected beauty when I took our little dog, Lily, out to her piddle place, a fenced area beside the house. It is hidden from the road and “landscaped” meagerly with rocks. Its sole decoration is the garbage can. Expecting the same old bedtime routine, I was blessed by beauty instead. The streetlight, which goes on and off sporadically, was backlighting the brand-new, fuzzy catkins on our neighbors’ aspen tree. They looked as if they were encased in sparkling ice, shimmering and dancing in the early spring breeze. An awed “Ahhhhhh” escaped as I exhaled. While Lily did what she was supposed to do, I turned off our light, inked the beauty of the backlit catkins in my mind’s eye, and whispered a prayer of gratitude for a lovely surprise in such an everyday place and action.
PRACTICE…
• Expect to find beauty in the strangest places.
• Enjoy and appreciate the beauty you notice.
• Really see and appreciate an aspect of your own beauty.
Excerpted from The Woman's Book of Mindfulness by Sue Patton Thoele. Available on Amazon.
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