Beauty is all around us. Each day before you go to sleep think about what you experienced that was beautiful.
I learned this philosophy from Twylah Nitsch, Wolf Clan mother of the Seneca Nation. Twylah would instruct her students to ask themselves each day: What did you see that was beautiful today?
I made this vision seed my own by extending it to the other senses. So I ask myself most days (I make no claims on perfection! And sometimes I am so tired I am asleep before I remember.):
What did I see that was beautiful?
What did I hear that made my heart sing?
What did I touch that made me feel good?
What did I smell that delighted me?
What did I taste that was delicious?
What did I experience that moved me to feel the life force?
There are so many possible answers depending upon what you like and how observant you are.
For some examples from yesterday: I saw a peony in full bloom; I heard the birds singing around our feeder; I got to touch my daughter’s new rescue chinchilla, Tiko; I smelled the freshly cut grass; I tasted a ripe blueberry; I saw a loving mother playing with her children. If I had been in a city I might have seen a wild plant coming up between the sidewalk cracks; heard the pigeons cooing; touched a lovely fabric; smelled a sample of wonderful perfume; tasted a really good deli sandwich; seen two dogs playing joyfully.
When my daughter was a toddler we used to play the beauty game: looking, listening, touching, smelling, tasting. It was fun for both of us. Do you take a minute during your busy day to search for beauty? Doing so will enhance the way you experience life. There is much in the world that is not beautiful. When we surround ourselves with news, shows, programs, people who keep reminding us of how bad things are, we lose touch with the goodness that is also there. For a few days, take some time to play the beauty game. You might like it as much as your current on-line favorite.
