Remember

You experience life moment by moment; these moments add up to your life.

Saturday, April 08, 2006

Do Something Beautiful


How do you do something beautiful? Many ways, but I was thinking in terms of either sharing beauty in a personal way or improving the way something looks.
First, pointing out beauty is one thing everyone needs to do. Beauty uplifts us; it actually can cause a chemical change that makes us feel better. If you have young children, you need to be making them aware of beauty. Say to them: "Look how beautiful those fluffy clouds look! So soft and so white!" This makes them look at the world differently - makes them aware of the possiblities in things - that those things are not just there. They can give us pleasure and add meaning and interest to our lives.
Adding beauty by adding a vase of flowers to the kitchen table is a nice touch, and at this season you may be able to pick some free. Make sure to let your children smell them, and call attention to the flowers. Make them aware of beauty.

Note that beauty is not just something to look at and touch or hear; it has meaning, too.
When my son went to graduate school in Denver, we arrived there at dusk - all of us for the first time. I went upstairs to our hotel room and opened the curtains to a lovely view of the Rocky Mountains in the last light. I turned off the lights in the room except for the one in the doorway so that when my son came in, I turned and said, "Look." His response was wonderful - a look that combined his appreciation for nature's beauty, an awareness that he had embarked on a new and exciting part of his life, and gratitude that I knew him well enough to do this so that he would always remember his first glimpse of the Rockies.
He has not forgotten, and obviously, neither have I. Make the day better by pointing out beauty to someone.
Make the rest of their lives better by teaching your children to recognize beauty in their everyday surroundings.

5 comments:

Pikkel Weezel said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Pikkel Weezel said...

Your giant text is obnoxious and unreadable.

animalfamily said...

we all need more beauty in our lives.

Sandra said...

Thank you for this lovely reminder. I think making the distinction between seeing something and noticing the beauty in that something is a priceless idea. Just a tiny tweek to add to our childrens perspectives. Very nice post.

Sandra said...

i'm so glad you commented on my blog. i read your post on blogmad and it crashed. i hadn't gotten the name of your blog so couldn't go back and find you again. in fact, i didn't even think my comment went through to yours! just reading this one post, i could see we have a little in common. best wishes to you and thanks for your comment. i'll be back, now that i have you bookmarked!