Beauty: Opening Our Eyes to the Beauty That Surrounds Us

[luv2salsa]

Beauty: Opening Our Eyes to the Beauty That Surrounds Us

"You agree-I'm sure you agree, that beauty is the only thing worth living for.."

---AGATHA CHRISTIE

 "While the Simple Abundance path is gentle, its lessons are powerful.  First of all, we learn to be grateful no matter what our circumstances may be.  In offering gratitude for our real lives, we discover how to change them for the better.  As we embrace simplicity, we learn that less is truly more.  This freedom encourages us to bring order to our affairs and cultivate harmony in our world.  Going at our own pace, learning to recognize our limitations, appreciating our progress, we weave the lessons into the fabric of our daily moments until they become a part of us.

     Suddenly one day we feel very much alive and desire more beauty in our personal quest.  We come to a deep awareness that creating a beautiful life is our highest calling.  "It was as if I had worked for years on the wrong side of a tapestry, learning accurately all its lines and figurines, yet always missing its color and sheen," the journalist Anna Louise Strong confessed in 1935.  We understand her sentiments as life's color and sheen and beauty call to us.

     Today, explore ways to see your world differently.  Let your eyes drink in the beauty that surrounds you.  Walk to a gallery on your lunch hour and meditate upon a beautiful painting or into your backyard this afternoon to catch that "certain Slant of light" that so enthralled Emily Dickinson.  Gaze into the faces of those you love, set the table with care, and relish the preparations you make for dinner, delighting in the presentation of your meal.  Light the candles, pour wine or sparkling water in your prettiest goblets, and celebrate this new awareness.  It is in the details of life that beauty is revealed, sustained, and nurtured.

     Outside, winter's darkness closes in.  Inside, you have found your own Light."                                                           

                                                                                                 --- Sarah Ban Breathnach

[Teresa16135410]

Jan. 26, 2009 at 3:02 PM

Hi dear!  :O)

I do actually get a REAL THRILL out of simple things!  I am kinda crazy that way. LOL

[luv2salsa]

Jan. 26, 2009 at 3:18 PM

Amen!  You have an amazing positive outlook.  This is one of the secrets why!  When my life was run by worry and monetary things, I couldn't help but be jealous of someone that I thought "had" the time to do so.....     

You have to "make" the time and "choose" to slow down, smell the roses, be grateful, and open your eyes to see the real "Light of God!"

(Original Poster)

[moomers]

Jan. 29, 2009 at 3:10 PM

I had the best Grandfather/Dad(he stepped up as a father for me).He taught us from the very beginning of simple pleasures.Grocery shopping,picnics,yard work,catching lightning bugs,planting gardens,spring blooms,sitting on the front porch, listening  to the rain,catching turtles and tad-poles,picking dandelions,making flower necklaces,playing Uno and Old maid and letting us cheat.LOL People forget about the simplicities we can share with our children.He made going to the grocery store every Friday ,as if  we were attending a grand function.I miss those days.Anytime the opportunity arises with my children ,I take it.With the economy spiraling, I appreciate his life lessons even more.Sorry to ramble.I got caught up in good memories.LOL--I love your post!

[momofsoldier237]

Jan. 30, 2009 at 4:09 PM

My husband and I taught our children that it isn't what you can buy that  can make  a person happy it is the little things like going on walk to pick blackberries or sitting on a blanket and reading a book outside to the kids. Those are the things that they will remember.

Debbie