Add beauty to your life
October 1, 2009 by Káren Wallace
Filed under Serenity Space
Is your life filled with beauty? Do things that are beautiful raise your spirits and bring a smile to your face? Do you even notice beauty around you?
Are you wondering why you would even want to think about beautiful things, you’ve got too much crammed in your head as it is?
A client of mine, Sharon, told me she has no time to watch the sunset in between paying bills and making sure her son attends school. And why would she watch the sunset anyway, there is always so much to be done?
Why, indeed.
Sunrise (c) Leah Maclean
Why add beauty to your life?
It’s something I’ve pondered ever since I had that conversation with Sharon. Why, when our lives are so full, so busy, would we add something else – especially something that on the surface doesn’t seem to help us get things done, pay the bills, or keep the house clean?
Ahh, but beauty, noticed, makes each of those chores, tasks and concerns lighter, brighter and, somehow, easier.
When you stop, even for a single moment, to recognise and appreciate something for it’s loveliness you bring yourself back into the present moment.
Suddenly you’re not fretting about all those things you need to get done, or worrying about what happened yesterday. You’re right here, right now, noticing something beautiful and taking a deep, calming breath.
Noticing beauty can uplift, restore, nourish, rejuvenate, entice and even motivate us.
When we love our home, and have made it beautiful and special, it is a joy to keep it clean.
When the picture above our desk, or the wallpaper background on our computer makes us smile, work and bill paying seem somehow less stressful.
When life is chaotic, and we’re barely keeping our head above water, taking a moment to appreciate the glory of a sunrise, the wind in our hair, the touch of a child as he cuddles up next to you, the smell of gardenias wafting in through an open window, the sound of your daughter practicing the piano or the taste of the first mango of the season, can bring a smile to our face and a deep, shuddering breath to our lungs.
Like the newly pregnant woman suddenly noticing bellies and prams everywhere she goes (and surely there weren’t so many, yesterday?), when you focus on beauty and what it can bring to your life, you will see it everywhere!
A Challenge For You
I’m challenging you, as I challenged Sharon, to look for beauty. Like Amy, you may drive your family crazy, but you’re sure to find beauty in unexpected places. As Annie challenges us – notice and appreciate the glory of this world. Give thanks for the beauty you notice. Look, feel, taste, hear and smell the glory that surrounds you. Even in the darkest moments and the darkest places, beauty lies in wait to be seen. You don’t need to go out of your way, or change your routine, to start noticing. Just be aware.
Will you be the one to find it?
Will you be the one to feel your heart expanding as each of your senses discovers new wonders?
Take up our challenge: join in the fun as we celebrate our second birthday and share the beauty that surrounds us! More details – click here.
Thank you, Karen. This is a beautiful message, one we can never tire of hearing. We were born to love, and to find, appreciate and create beauty. Everything that reminds us of this is the universe’s way of saying believe.
I’m redecorating and drastically changing my home at the moment? Why? Nature fuels me, but I need an injection of beauty here as well as outside. After decades of cosy kid clutter, I need more calm and serenity, a breath of fresh air to lift me wherever I turn.
To me, beauty is the reason for paying the bills, getting kids to school, cleaning the house. Life is Beautiful – a friend’s smile, a flower growing through a crack in the pavement, the sound of a baby giggling, the smell of great coffee. And it’s because of the beauty of life that makes the mundane tasks worthwhile.
The beauty I’m appreciating now is my little son. He brings brightness into my life. And he has also reminded me of a carefree and living-at-the-moment attitude.
@Janice – I so hear you about your current mission to add calm, serenity and fresh air to your home! Our tastes change as we grow older, and what was meaningful or even beautiful when the kids were little becomes old, tired and often just a little ordinary after a while, doesn’t it?
When we renovated our home two years ago, out went all the many-coloured walls, the pale, pale floors and the dust-catching knick-knacks. In came beautiful wooden floors, deep coloured carpet and neutral walls throughout – even the name of the paint colour is delicious – ‘Hand-Made Linen’. We sold lots of furniture. We didn’t replace it! And now, our house feels like that sanctuary we all need away from the chaos out there. Well, most of the time, anyway. It’s been full of many kids the last 2 weeks with school holidays, but that adds a totally different dimension and a certain beauty all it’s own, doesn’t it?
I hope you’ll share the results of your redecorating efforts with us. I’m sure they’ll be inspiring!
@Angela – you put that so well, yes – beauty IS the reason for paying the bills, getting kids to school and cleaning the house. Without beauty, our lives would be so much less, wouldn’t they? Thanks!
@Walter – aww, how old is your son? I love babies and little kids so much… and children can really teach us so much about living, can’t they? Thanks and welcome to The Calm Space, it’s great to hear from you!
Its true that we really need add beauty on our life. Life appreciation with a simple sunrise in the morning makes us feel better and make out stress out of our senses. I always start my day with a smile in a mirror and making my self beautiful and that is my little secret every morning.
@Mikaela – welcome back! I am sure everyone in your life, everyone you meet during your day, appreciates the glow that you give yourself each morning! Thanks so much for sharing.