THE SCENIC ROUTE
Okay but have you seen the abundance of magical blooms EVERYWHERE? If you haven't, consider this your sign to get on that! This awe dropping beauty surrounds us not just in spring but year round. The beauty of the world doesn't go anywhere, it's always there, so why do we turn away? What are turning away from? Seriously what are we so busy doing that days, weeks, months go by without us praising the earth for being the most miraculous thing we've ever seen…..Let's talk about it!
The beauty we're surrounded by is staggering and while spring is an ideal entry point into the subject, it's bigger than spring. What we're talking about is the beauty inherent in the fabric of the world and why it has a profound effect on us.
For example, when we need some clarity, we often do things like go out to “get some air.” We intuitively know to turn towards the beauty of the natural world to soothe and balance us, we already recognize that it offers us something vital. We seek it's enchanted simplicity. But, we tend to forget or downplay it. It could be because we associate beauty as a superficial requirement, a passing whim, instead of the deep and abiding need that it is. How many times have you forgone the scenic route to save time?
The reason beauty is vital to our emotional wellbeing is because “the experience of seeing beauty is love” (swoon ZachBush, swoon - click for podcast). It allows us to immerse in our true nature, our own beauty. It's practicing wonder which fuels our sense of purpose in this world. It's necessary medicine.
Once more, this time louder for the people in the back, “the fabric of everything is beauty and the experience of seeing beauty is love”
Let's dive deeper...
THE LOVE OF BEAUTY
We see more of what we look for. When we practice wonder, we strengthen our connection to the beauty of the universe. We strengthen our seeing and our sensing of the miracle of being. We enter the stream of loving energy that permeates throughout existence and we cultivate even more beauty in our lives. How?Through the understanding that we were made in the template of nature and her beauty, her infinite intelligence, we start to see our own place in the design. Like the intricate patterns found all over the natural world, some visible like those found on a leaf; others less so, we start to integrate that we too are part of that divine system. We start to see the beauty in our own natural face, in our gray hair; the perfectly imperfect scars on our skin.By building our awareness and sensitizing our experience of the beauty that surrounds us in every moment, we expand and grow into the true face of beauty. And each moment we do see that beauty, we are choosing love, and do you know what happens after that? The whole Universe opens. Mic drop.
HEART GAZING
It's not a casual mic drop. But it also kind of is. Because it sounds like such a BIG undertaking, but actually, cultivating beauty is the most natural thing in the world. Again, back to that example of “going out to get some air,” we intuitively seek out the simple beauty of nature when we're looking to feel better, when we want to feel uplifted. This is because it's not constructing something new into ourselves, a contriving of a new habit, it's remembering our divine nature. And seeing the world the way we're meant to, through the heart. When we manage to do that, everything reveals itself to you; it opens to you. And doesn't that just sound like the most natural thing in the world? To look through the heart, i.e. to remain curious, connected and awe-struck? After all, joy and whimsy lurk in every crevice and corner, beauty abounds, wonder heals if we let it. All we have to do is remember that we're just bigger versions of that flower we stopped to smell. And smaller versions of that rainbow we pulled over to stare at.
And fyi, the rainbows and the flowers are equally enamored with us. Love is universal.
xx
Michelle
