Take a moment to see what’s around you right now, and try to find one thing that you think is beautiful. Beauty is best noticed when it is self-defined - so really look for what feels beautiful to you.
There’s a coleus plant by my desk. I got this plant in the middle of winter as it was set to die, and years later its bright pinks remind me that we can survive in harsh conditions. It became the first house plant to live for years in my home. That is beautiful.
Beauty is a mix of present appearances and the memories that are evokes when we look at something. Beauty can speak to your past, future, and present at the same time - reminding you that the present moment is built up of all three places in time.
The seeds burst open
And the sprouts climb up
Despite the cold, it is time
To grow tall
Beauty can feel hard to find when your living conditions are not what you would wish. In times outside a pandemic, your work life or family may require you to travel to places where you have less control over your surroundings. Traveling can be exciting, but it is also destabilizing because you are in a new environment where you haven’t had much of a role in setting up the space or the tone.
In those moments where your environment feels unfamiliar or disorienting, take the time to build in something beautiful. It can be as simple as a bedside altar. Make sure you include something that reminds you of the beauty in your past, present, and future.
Find yourself something that inspires you to be.
Let it be beautiful for you to see
The beauty that lives inside you every day,
So that you remember to express yourself in your own way.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
What is your home space looking like these days? Tending to your physical home allows your body to relax and be. Your physical home can become a reflection of your inner state. When you are surrounded by what you experience as beautiful, it becomes easier to share your beauty with the world.
Beauty inspires actions. So let your actions be grounded in beauty.
What’s something beautiful around you now? Comment below.