beauty

I’m sure I’m not the only one who can so easily go about my day and forget to admire the beauty around me. There’s the choice to see beauty in the everyday (even the mundane), recognise beauty in the chaos and find beauty in simplicity. But today I’m talking about beauty that you see, or experience, that makes you stop and catch your breath for a moment, when you let it. When was the last time you let that happen?

There’s beauty in creation, in the outdoors: the beauty of a glistening beach under the warmth of the sun and the rims of glimmering golden light around the clouds as the sun starts its descent in the early hours of the evening. The beauty of the sound of rain pattering on your roof at night, as you know you’re tucked up safe and warm inside. The beauty of the autumn colours sharing their palette of golds, reds and yellows strewn from the top of each hill to the bottom of every valley (well, almost!).

We are creative beings, who can also find beauty the creative release of others. There’s beauty in a piece of music – whether an ageless classic or a more recent release – that you can feel right down to your toes as you close your eyes and listen with your whole being. There’s beauty in a carefully crafted piece of cinematography, or a piece of art that speaks to your soul; that captures your attention and your heart. There’s beauty in words: in finding the right combination and rhythm to express a depth of emotion that stretches right to the final word of your sentence.

I read something recently that highlighted the value of beauty to our lives, and the impact it can have on our souls. You see, no matter what is going on around us, beauty is timeless. It’s definition and form may be different, but somewhere – somehow – we can trust that there will always be beauty. It’s like God created beauty to be a call for our souls, to draw us closer to His Creator heart. As we take a moment out of our internal monologues and busy days to pause and consider the beauty of what is around us, we are taking a moment to connect with the divine. With who we are called to be. And that makes the next step, and the next, that little bit easier.

I confess that I’m quite a homebody. I love being at home and I particularly enjoy finding ways to create beauty within the space of our house (on a budget, for sure!). I’m nowhere near as good or regular as I should be at setting aside time to go out into creation itself. Don’t get me wrong though, I do love creation and the beauty I experience in nature. But I also think the past few years have learned me to be content at home, and perhaps I’ve taken that to the extreme! Or perhaps that’s a good way to be.

When it comes to beauty, you may be drawn out into nature, to the beach or a park – if so, that’s awesome! Do it!! Perhaps, like me, you also have ways that you can do that right where you are. Do you have a spot in your house where you sit and watch the birds out the window? Or a chair somewhere that you curl into at just the right time of day, that gives you just the right combination of shade and sun so you can feel the warmth and let it linger?

I have a few spots, depending on the time of day, where my children are, and what we’re doing. How I discover beauty is often different from one day to the next, especially where the weather is concerned! But the one thing that I do appreciate almost every day is the sunset. We’re privileged to have an unobstructed view from our house, and the brilliance of the sky at night will often stop us all in our tracks. Today’s photo was from a few nights ago: I love the sheer quantity of colours in the Artist’s palette!

Your version of beauty and my version of beauty may be quite different. That’s because we’re quite different, and that’s the way it’s meant to be. But my cry to you is: look for the beauty around you – near or far – that makes you stop, and wonder. Find something that gives you pause, and pause for it. Let it simmer and sink in, and let that delicious feeling of awe and wonder fill you, even if just for a moment. It’s amazing what that moment – what each of those moments – will do for your soul. God designed beauty that way: to bring your soul grace, here in the middle of this thing called life.

Kristy x

Not sure what this is all about? Learn more about Soul Graces here.