I See the Beauty

“Oooh. Look there. That's beautiful.” The reds, yellows and greens that paint the landscape are breathtaking this time of year. You don't need to go to New England to see the colors change for fall. We have our own art show right here in the Sacramento Valley.

As much as our eye is caught by the brilliant colors and we are taken for a moment by the sheer beauty of it, we also take our ability to appreciate beauty for granted. And yet, it may be something more developed in humans than in any other species and exercising that part of our brain, the part that perceives beauty, can change our lives. It changes our lives because we can't perceive beauty without appreciation, a form of gratitude.

I recommend to people to take a beauty break a few times each day. Colored leaves and sunsets are easy to notice. What is less easy to take account of and possibly more important is the beauty of things right around us. It can be the simple things and the small things that count the most. It can be the way a curtain folds and falls to the floor, a passing cloud, the negative shapes of the sky between tall buildings, the watery reflections of passing people in a store window, the repeated pattern of neat rows of books on shelves, the sound of birds, the softness of carpeting or a mohair coat.

Do this experiment. Right where you are now, notice how you are feeling. And now find something in your environment that is beautiful. Remember that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so the object you find beautiful does not need to have something special about it, you just need to find the beauty in it. Then savor that beauty. Enjoy it. It only takes a moment but it is a good moment. Now notice once again how you are feeling. Notice the difference? Of course, this feeling, like all feelings, will fade but there is nothing that prevents you from taking a beauty break when ever you want to feel this way.

And here is another suggestion. Go for a beauty walk. Walk for a half an hour or an hour looking for beautiful things along the way. Because beauty is what you imbue things with, it is your perception after all, there is no end to the amount of beauty you can see along the way.

Enjoy!