"It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see."
— Henry David Thoreau
Most people talk about seeing the beauty. But we know that you need to find the beauty. Beautiful things are not always obvious. Often, they are buried, hidden. Beauty can be found sneaking through the edge of a storm cloud, tucked inside the muck of a crusty oyster shell, or in the mess that becomes your kitchen when children decide to bake cookies. Beauty can be found in loss and pain and fear. Beauty can be found in the simplest of moments, but only if you look.
This month, we are going to practice finding the beauty. We are going to look at the challenging world around us and we are going to seek out the bright lights, the moments of hope and joy, and all that is glorious.
This will not be easy. We are confronting unprecedented times on so, so many flanks. It feels like the hits and the challenges just keep coming. It is easy — really, really easy — to give in to despair. Some days, the urge to pull the covers over our heads, to think this is just too much and to say “I give up” can be overwhelming. We get it, we really do.
But we believe that if we stick together, if we focus on the things that unite us, if we strive every day to retrain ourselves to look for the open spaces and to actively find the beauty in the world, we will make it through. Better than make it through: we have the potential to find a way to live in beauty despite the chaos.
Here are nine ways to begin thinking about how to find the beauty
Look for the tiny details. You can look at the fallen leaves and see the end of summer. Or you can look closely at the kaleidoscope of colors and see a thousand shades you’ve never noticed.
See through the eyes of a child. Children greet the world with wonder. Consider a young child blowing bubbles. Wait, here’s a better idea … next time you have the chance, blow bubbles with a young child and experience that wonder along with them.
Flip the script. This is not easy. This requires an act of will. This requires you to force yourself to see the glass half full.
Keep it simple. As we learned last month, there is tremendous power in keeping things simple. Keep the clutter cleared — and remember when we talk about the clutter, we are talking about your stuff, your to-do list and your mind.
Embrace the busyness, chaos, and mess of life. Being busy means family, friends, community, work, connection, and productivity. Remember that making memories is a messy business.
See through the difficult moments. Strive to find beauty in grief because grief, by definition, means love.
Honor your body. It is the vessel that carries your mind, your heart and your soul through this journey. Find the beauty in every breath and every miraculous step.
Slow down. Most of us spend our days rushing from commitment to commitment, activity to activity or social media post to social media post. The beauty is often found only when you slow down enough to see it.
Don’t quit. If you give up, you will not find the beauty. This is an ongoing daily, weekly, monthly and lifelong journey. It is not easy. You will be challenged and tested. The beauty will hide beneath pain and ugliness and loss. The media will deliver a steady diet of horrible. Bad things will happen. You will need to dig deep, over and over, to find the beauty in the struggle. So, don’t give up.