Who would not want a more beautiful world? These days things are getting a little ugly in many places. We can feel helpless to make any real change. Most of us are not leaders of countries. We are not those who make laws. We do not lead religions or are not celebrities who have millions of followers. Considering these facts, how can any of us hope to make changes that can make the world a more beautiful place?
The answer can be found in our own lives. When we think about who made the greatest difference in our life it was not the government or a celebrity. No. It was usually a kind word from a friend. Perhaps an encouraging word from our parents. A supportive and loving word from our partner can change our life. Even random kind acts from strangers have a greater impact in our life.
The point is simple. If you wish for a more beautiful world, then spread kindness and love to all you meet. It is those interactions that change people’s lives.
Here is a 30-day secret to an amazing life – find the beauty in everything. Some things this is easy to do. It could help you to start with those. Find the beauty in a sunrise or sunset. One of my favorites is finding beauty in different tropical locations. The first week of this challenge, just do that. Find as many beautiful things in your life as you can.
The next week, try the people in your life. Just notice all of the beautiful people in your life. Remember that beauty is not always just skin deep. Some people have beautiful eyes, some people have beautiful souls. Bodies can be beautiful, but so is kindness. Notice how the people in your life are beautiful.
The third and fourth weeks are very similar. On the third week, ask yourself as often as you can, “What is beautiful about this situation?” As mentioned earlier, this should be easier for a sunrise than a root canal. If we look hard enough, we can find beauty in it all. If you can’t at the moment, just relax and let it go. You can even reassure yourself, “Although I cannot find the beauty in this situation at the moment, I’m sure it will occur to me at a later time.” Going to the dentist is not always a beautiful situation, but how much better it allows you to feel is.
Lastly, do the same with people. Ask yourself, “What is beautiful about this person?” When I do this with the woman I love, it could take all day. In that case, ask yourself what you are finding beautiful about that person at the moment. This is easy when you are around people you care about, unless you are in the middle of a disagreement. In which case, it can be even more powerful to ask yourself what you find beautiful about them.
Again, this is far easier to do for some people than others. If there is a customer tearing into you for no good reason, it can be hard to find the beauty in that. Maybe it is just that they are helping you strengthen your patience or resilience? Often the beauty in things can only be seen in hindsight. Just like with situations, if you can’t find the beauty in a person, let it go and remind yourself it may occur to you later.
What is the purpose of all of this? The more we look for beauty, the more likely we are to find it. There is so much beauty in our lives that we miss much of it. Changing our focus to find it will make our lives more beautiful.
Today is Monday. Many people strongly dislike Mondays. It is the start of the work week and the end of relaxing. For me personally, I DJ Sunday and go to bed about 2am. My alarm goes off for work at 4am. If you are keeping score at home, that leaves 2 hours for sleep.
Here is the interesting thing – there is beauty in a Monday. It is the start of a week of challenges that can leave you a stronger person by weeks end. It is the beginning of a week of opportunity to save towards your retirement. How about developing character by showing up on time and working hard?
It is not only Mondays, but every aspect of life that has beauty. Yes, even the ones we consider negative. I have found beauty in a dental visit. I have found beauty cleaning up a river. There is even beauty to be found at a funeral.
What is the big deal about finding beauty in life? The more beauty you can find around you, the more beautiful life becomes. How about you? Have there been situations where you have been able to find beauty when others could not?
How about this advice from Mark Twain? It is really so true. Today, the day you are reading this post, has the potential for being the most beautiful day of your life so far. It doesn’t matter what challenges you are facing, what the weather is like or whom you have to spend the day with. We need to understand, and appreciate, that true beauty comes not from outside circumstances, but inner gratitude and appreciation for the beauty that surrounds us. I am a huge fan of sunny warm days, yet there is beauty to be found in the rain. There is a majesty to be found in storm clouds and thunder.
Is it a traffic jam, or is it a driving break to say some positive affirmations and sing along to your favorite song at the top of your lungs? Is it a red light delaying your journey or a chance to lean over and kiss the one you love? Is a workout something you dread doing, or is it something you can do to get you one step closer to that healthy body you are shooting for? At first glance, you might notice all of these facts can be true. It is the ‘glass half empty or half full’ question. Both ways of looking at it can be true, but one feels like lack and you are missing something, the other feels abundant and like you have something. Both are equally true, but how we choose to view it determines how it will make us feel.
Give today the chance to become the most beautiful day of your life. At the very least, just don’t get in the way of it becoming so. Free your mind of all the worry, fear, anger and other nonsense that we often fill our heads with. Instead, actively look for all the beauty and things that you can appreciate about the day. Feel free to share some of those wonderful things you discover!
This weekend, so yourself a favor. Believe in the good. In this world, where negativity can be ever present, that can be a difficult task. However, there is good all around us. True, it doesn’t often get the press the negative does. Yes, we may have to dig deeper, but if we do, love becomes so much more rewarding.
It all begins with belief. If you believe in the beauty in yourself, others and the world around you, it will manifest in your life when you least expect it. So, this weekend do yourself a favor and believe in the good and beauty that is all around us.
We touched on this theory in the post Live in a loving world. We are going to look at how to make the life we are living a beautiful experience. It is not as difficult as many would like to have you believe. The ‘sky is falling’ or‘chicken little’ approach taken by many in politics and the media is great for selling, but not necessarily reality. Yes, life is full of challenges, disappoints and loss. It is, however, also full of beauty, opportunity, and abundance. It is really what we choose to focus on. As Tony Robbins says, “What is wrong is always available, but so is what is right.”
I look at this as a challenge of sorts. Can I find the beauty in whatever situation I am going through? I know there is always something beautiful and grateful to be found. In the beginning, the trick is sticking with it long enough to find. What is the payoff for this challenge? Noticing the beauty that is all around us. What is the big deal there? It changes our emotional state. If you stop and think about it, our lives are our emotional states. If you are poor, and are an angry and pissed off person, what is your life? Angry and pissed off. Now if you got money and became a rich angry and pissed off person, what is your reality? It is still angry and pissed off. Therefore, taking charge of our emotional state is taking charge of our life.
The more you can find the beauty that is all around you, the more beautiful your life becomes. Let me use my own current situation as an example. I am writing this in a coffee shop as I so often do. Across from me, a couple is sitting side by side doing their homework together. Rather beautiful. The sun is shining through the windows despite it being a rather chilly October day. This is rather beautiful. Behind me, I hear the sounds of friends laughing together while enjoying a coffee. Laughter is a beautiful sound. The fact that I can enjoy a hot cup of coffee is a beautiful thing. At the turn of the last century, coffee was a rare commodity. Kind of hard to imagine now. Lucky me.
How about your life? What is beautiful in your life? Remember, it doesn‘t have to be perfect to be beautiful. Even the broken can be beautiful. I recall the pain of losing those I loved, and really struggling to find the beauty in that. What I learned was that in order to hurt so greatly, we first have to love so greatly. This is not an opportunity afforded to all. The more loss we feel, the greater we have loved. It also means we are better able to understand and help those who also experience and feel loss. Something we would not be able to do had we not felt the loss ourselves. The beauty in the struggle is the opportunity to feel the victory in overcoming, or even just pushing on. I would love to hear what is beautiful in your life at the moment. The more we stop and look for beauty, the more it will appear. Wouldn’t you like your life to be more beautiful?
This week, let us do exactly what this picture says. Find one person a day to find something beautiful in, and tell them. Just one person, one thing, once a day. That’s not so hard, is it? What is amazing is the effect you will have.
You can start easy. For me, that would mean telling Margie one of the million things that are beautiful about her. However, I would ask that you pick different people each day. Also, maybe people who wouldn’t quite expect it. In my case, there are several. My friend Julie, it is beautiful how strong she is in her faith. My friend Nick has a beautiful way of being compassionate to others. My friend Nicci is an art teacher and positively affecting young people is beautiful. Her husband, Chris, really cares about the condition of the world and the people in it. That is a difficult, yet beautiful thing. There are so many people, with so much beauty in them, they need to hear it!
How about you? Who are some people in your life that are beautiful? What is beautiful about them? Make sure you tell them! 7days, 7 people! Let’s do this and change some lives!
Here are a few interesting facts that I have learned lately. On average, Americans spend between $244 and $313 on cosmetics…every month! The average global income is $9,733. The global cosmetics industry is valued at 571.10 billion! This is a lot of money to be spent in the quest to make us look better. Yet, most of these people do not invest the money, or the time, into the one thing that is sure to improve their appearance – their soul. How does working on your soul, or personality, make you more attractive? More to the point, how can we do it? Let us take a look.
The first thing to consider is what accessories you choose to wear. I am not talking about that expensive bracelet or purse you carry with you. The most attractive accessory anyone, man or woman, can wear is a smile. When you smile, you cannot help but to increase your own mood. When you do that, it is infectious. When you see someone smile at you, it is natural to smile back. We have already mentioned that smiling can make you feel good while you are doing it. So it stands to reason, someone who makes you smile, say by smiling at you, will be a person you will want to be around.
Here is something to consider. You do not only smile with your mouth. We all know people whose eyes light up when they smile. Having a welcoming posture makes you more attractive as well. If you are walking around slouched over, eyes down, with a shuffling gate, you won’t be nearly as appealing as someone who is walking upright, bright-eyed with a spring in their step. Here is another crazy thought. Smiling is not just physical. You can smile with your words. How is this possible? When you are someone who only relays the negative news of the day, or spreads today’s gossip, this will detract from your looks no matter how beautiful you are. On the flip side, if you are constantly speaking encouraging words and bringing out the best in everyone, you will be instantly more attractive.
These suggestions may sound trivial or corny to you. This does not make them any less true. Think about your own life. Would you rather spend time with someone who has a cheery disposition and always has a good word to share, or someone always spreading negative gossip and wearing a frown? I don’t know about you, but I would choose the former. While we are investing in new outfits, cologne, make up, shampoo and other things to help our physical appearance, let us not forget to invest some time and money to increase our inner beauty. Unlike the outer beauty, this investment will not fade with time.
As I write this, I am in vacation in Negril Jamaica. Above is a Latte made by one of the employees here at the resort. It was one of the best I have ever had. As I sat in the large lobby enjoying it, the thought occurred to me that for me, being in the tropics, enjoying a great coffee with the lady I love was close enough to perfect. For a few minutes I sat and just soaked it all in.
This is the view from where we ate lunch. Another moment of soaking itall in. You never know when life, or even your vacation, can go sideways. You need to have these moments of peace and perfection to fall back on. Make sure you soak in the beauty of as many moments in life as you can. Until next time my friends, keep Living your amazing life. 😀
Above is a picture I took of the sunrise just outside of my place of work. Not too crazy about the snow, but that sky was something to behold! The picture doesn’t even do it justice. In today’s world we can be so busy working to get ahead, or sometimes just make it through, that we forget to stop and take a look around. That is what I encourage you to do right now. Seriously, right now, wherever you are, take a look around. What do you see? What is beautiful? What is there that you can be grateful for? There is always something. I leave for work at 4:30 in the morning. It is dark and this time of year, quite cold. Still, being able to watch the sunrise is something beautiful to be grateful for.
Life can be crazy. We all need to stop, if only for a minute or two, and appreciate all of the things that are beautiful and that we can be grateful for in life. As I write this, I am sitting in a warm coffee shop, the sun is shining in and I am able to share this with all of you. From Peru to Sudan, we all have beauty in our lives that could be appreciated. We all have something to be grateful for. Let us take a moment out of our busy lives to acknowledge it.
SECRET 2 AN AMAZING LIFE 