BEAUTY:

The picture of this full moon doesn’t really convey the absolute beauty of the night, but the idea is there. I just had to stop, get out of the car and capture the image. My day had been a little off kilter, but seeing the beauty and magic of this moon capped my day with a  tender feeling that all was well.

Isn’t it funny how something so simple can do that for us? I wonder in any given day how many instances of beauty we miss? It is a lot like GRACE that I wrote about earlier…..we have to open our hearts and our minds to beauty and GRACE.

So, how do we get an ‘open heart and mind’ to see and feel these moments? I think it begins with a POSITIVE approach to life rather than being negative. This means we have to ‘ditch’ the old mantras of self-bashing and the recreating of unhealthy past scenarios. These two negatives will block one from being able to see, feel and fully experience the wonders of beauty and GRACE. For sure, other’s words and behaviors can be hurtful and sometimes we love to hang on to them. (How dare he/she talk to me like that!) However, this only serves to wound us and distort our thinking in negative ways.  Cognitive behaviorist’s suggest that we engage in consciously using positive mantras/remembrances each time the negatives we are holding pop up.

For me, another important approach to an open heart and mind is being grateful for what I have and accepting myself for who I am in this chapter. After all, I am still a work in progress! Being able to accept yourself for where you are and how you got there gives you ownership and blaming others will not be a part of who you are. Gratitude for what I have been given and not pining away for what my friend has, or I think he/she has, leaves one’s heart and mind space to see, feel and experience those moments of beauty and GRACE.  I spend a few moments every morning verbalizing what I am grateful for and asking for the GRACE to remain grateful.

This is one of my favorite quotes from Ralph Waldo Emerson: “Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful, for beauty is God’s handwriting.”

At the end of your day, think about any moments of beauty you experienced and how it felt in your heart.