In March 2014, I completed a values exercise suggested in Pam Slim’s book Body of Work. After some self-contemplation and narrowing down possible choices, I concluded that beauty was one of my foremost personal values. I defined that value for myself as the acknowledgment of all the beauty in this world, whether in the form of art, nature, or mankind.
Beauty gets a bad rap. People often see it as the superficial attractiveness of individuals or celebrities, something you either have or don’t, a quality that diminishes over time. That’s not the kind of beauty I’m talking about.
Dictionary.com defines beauty as “the quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind, whether arising from sensory manifestations, a meaningful design, or something else.” Beauty delights the senses and pleases the mind; it can include awe-inspiring visual impact as well as anything that invokes a deep sense of reverence within you.
As John O’Donohue writes in Beauty: The Invisible Embrace, “Beauty dwells at the heart of life. If we can free ourselves from our robot-like habits of predictability, repetition and function, we begin to walk differently on the earth.”
Over the past year, I’ve become more conscious of the beauty that surounds us and now I’d like to share what I’ve learned with you.
On September 21st, I am launching A Call to Beauty, a 12-week e-course that invites you to rediscover all of the beauty that exists in our world. It is a call to seek things that inspire and invoke a sense of wonder within you, to be present to and grateful for your life here and now.
If you’ve felt disconnected or distracted, if the stress of daily life is getting you down, or if you’d like to experience more wonder in your day-to-day life, it would be my pleasure to share my beauty practice with you. Through the course, you will learn tools I’ve used to uncover and honor more of the beauty that surrounds us every day.
As a course preview, I’m offering readers a free downloadable guide, Beauty Surrounds Us. To grab your copy today, click over here.
Cheers,
