Finding ugliness is easy – just turn on the news on any given day. Stories that bring disgust and despair abound. And it becomes easy to feel that we live in an infinity pool of foul hideousness. Yet, beauty remains all around us to be enjoyed. Indeed, everywhere that I turn mindfully, beauty surrounds me: the sweet color of a delicate, velvety flower, the rustling caress of the wind on tree leaves, the symbiotic movement of two well-connected dancers. When I define beauty as “that which brings me joy”, a whole new swath of possibilities appear. The crystalline laughter of a beloved child or the heady fragrance of a lover’s skin are rarely referred to as beautiful. Yet, in the mind of the beholder, they are indeed things of beauty – cherished and longed after. Beyond the beauty that is conveyed through the senses, actions can carry beauty too. Be it holding a door open for someone or dedicating one’s career to helping disadvantaged people, the way we choose to conduct our lives can add to the beauty of our world. Mindfulness and purpose are key, once again. Every day, “imperfect” circumstances notwithstanding – drizzly sky, litter among the seashells, seagull corpses – I can choose to focus on the overwhelming beauty of a walk on the beach. Just as I can choose to believe that I live surrounded by beauty at every moment. For that, I am grateful.
