Beauty feeds the soul. You need beauty the way you need oxygen. Seek and celebrate beauty when you find it. When you fully experience beauty, you’re experiencing a “moment of pure psychological health.”–What We May Be, Piero Ferrucci.
Absorbing beauty allows you to literally imprint positive thoughts and feelings into your subconscious. This stimulates peaceful, loving and uplifting states of mind, offsetting the stress and negativity you encounter daily. Experiencing beauty also pulls you out of yourself and connects you to the larger world.
What is beauty? According to poet, St. Edna Vincent Millay, “Beauty is whatever gives joy.”
You know you’ve come across something beautiful when you find yourself “catching your breath” with pleasure. Turn inward, and you’ll notice your energy level rising. Beauty truly lies in the eye of the person beholding it.
Beauty can be auditory, visual or tactile. Classical music expresses some of the highest emotions and spiritual yearnings of human beings. Much of classical music is religiously inspired. Often it reflects the composers’ attempts to express the meaning of their lives in the midst of joy and sorrow. Listening to classical music, especially instrumental music, calls forth your imagination and emotions just as a book does.
Artists often express their highest selves on canvas in the midst of their human frailty.
The splendour of Nature evokes wonder in even the most hardened hearts. Many people crave the sensory beauty of nature because it offers the most poignant way to connect with God.
Make beauty a part of your daily life. This can mean a whole variety of things to different people: preparing a beautiful meal each night, wearing beautiful clothes, sipping a glass of good wine or beer, creating a beautiful home or regularly placing a flower arrangement in your home.
Everything you experience in your human body is spiritual. So the search for beauty to feed your soul is a spiritual quest. Look at the world around you. Reclaim the wonder you had as a child. And bring this beauty into your home or office. Some suggestions on how you can do this:
In your bedroom
The first thing you see in the morning sets your thoughts and feelings for the day ahead. The last thing you see at night prepares you for sleep and dreams. What do you see after your alarm clock startles you from slumber? Deliberately place something special on your night table. How about a framed photo collage of people you love? Or a reminder of something you are grateful for.
Hang a picture or painting on the wall that has a special meaning for you. If you have a window, spend a few moments gazing at the sky before you get out of bed and before you go to sleep.
Where do I find beauty, you might ask? In many different places. But I just love flowers. They not only feed my soul but connect me to my Maker. I recently treated myself to the orchid you see in the photo. And, from time to time, I buy flowers to place in different parts of my home.
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