Finding beauty.........

Beauty.

What is beauty to you?

A glistening blue ocean, a magical sunset, a pristine forest,

a star lit evening sky, a special piece of music, a ballerina

doing the pas de deau, your child's smile, an elegant equation,

etc.etc.

When we experience something we deem beauty, something

seems to happen to us.

And often, though not always, that ''something'' is an

instinctual emotional response.

Tears may well up in our eyes, our hearts may beat a little

faster, a sense of lightness may flow through our bodies,

we may suddenly feel like dancing, singing, crying, laughing,

etc.etc.

Beauty, it seems, has an ability to bypass our cognition

and lodge itself somewhere inside of us out

of reach from our consciousness.

''His/her/its beauty made me catch my breath, the beauty with which

 they danced across the stage left me breathless,

the beauty of the way the eagle soared across the midnight sky brought

tears to my eyes, the beauty of the opening chord to Tristan and Isolde

pierced my soul, etc.etc.'' 

(just some examples, there are more of course)

Is the ability to appreciate beauty(whatever we may deem to be beauty)

 something we are all born with, or is it something we learn to do?

If we are all born with the ability to appreciate beauty, can that

ability be squashed if it isn't encouraged?

Children, it seems to me, often have their own take on what constitutes ''beauty''.

For a child, a worm, a ferret, a snake, a caterpillar, a ladybug, 

a blowfly, a dandelion, a muddy puddle, a dog with three legs,

etc.etc. can all be things of beauty.

''Mommy, look at me, I look beautiful!'' says the little girl

dressed in black and white spotted gum boots, a purple tutu,

red and white striped tights, a pink and silver coloured

t-shirt, and ruby red lipstick smeared all over her face.

''Daddy, look what I found! I found this beautiful lizard in the garden,

isn't he beautiful, Daddy?'' says the little boy as he holds

up a water dragon for his father to see.

Though I don't know this for sure and have not been able to find

any information to substantiate the validity of this thought, I think that

a child far easier finds beauty in the world around them

then us adults. I have a sneaky feeling that as the years pass, we

become less able(or perhaps willing) to spot beauty in the midst

of our day to day lives.

(Not to mention that these days, the ''ugly'' things us humans 

do to each other and our planet is plastered before our

eyes 24/7 on some screen somewhere.)

The good news is that with very little effort

 we can once again find beauty.

All it takes is for us to take the time to 

look for it without prejudice.

For me, really understanding the words: ''wherever you are, be there''

has helped me to keep a look out for ''beauty'' even in the most

dire of situations.

 Perhaps those words may come in handy for you as well?

I hope so.

Life is full of beauty. Take the time to notice it.

about the painting: It's called ''Glimpses of Beauty''...acrylic on canvas