Week Twenty: Finding Beauty Wherever You Are

One of the most impacting thing about my most recent time spent in Spain was the beauty I found around every corner. I was in Barcelona, where wild, brilliant green parrots inhabit all the parks in the city. The architecture is spectacular, with unusual buildings, cathedrals, and historical monuments all around. Fountains, statues, blue skies, people, birds each contributed a particular kind of beauty and quality to the city as a whole.

Because Barcelona was new to me, I paid attention to details that I might overlook at home, although I get a lot of nourishment from the unexpected moments of beauty I run into each day. What I’d like to ask you to explore this week is your relationship with beauty. In the coming week, take a moment to give yourself the suggestion that you will notice both natural and human-made beauty when you encounter it during your daily activities. There’s no need to seek out “spectacular” beauty, although you might find that as you journey through your day. Or, you might find a rose petal on the street, or a butterfly fluttering nearby. You might notice a large puffy cloud dancing across the sky, or a leaf that’s turning an autumn color. You might discover a smile on someone’s face that is beautiful to you, or a display in a window that captivates you and touches that special place where your relationship with beauty lives inside.

Pay particular attention to your mood, your state of mind, your way of being in the world when you take the time to discover, acknowledge, and relish the moments of beauty all around. Notice if you have any mixed feelings when you unexpectedly encounter beauty in your life, and how you allow yourself to take in its nourishment. As always, engage the experiment without any judgment or requirement. It’s all about exploring what it’s like to notice the beauty all around, and to pay attention to your relationship with it.

Click Here for Other Weeks in This Series:

Home Page