For the next 26 weeks I will be doing the ABC’s Blog Series over topics relating to overall wellness and the importance of decluttering. If you missed any of the other posts, you can find them easily here. My hope is that by the end of this series, you will be more in touch with yourself. I hope you will be able to answer what you envision for your life and maybe even pick up some ideas for how to make some positive changes. Remember, absolutely no shame or judgment about where you are. You always have the choice to start right NOW!
Now let’s learn some A, B, C’s!!
Beauty
Defined as a combination of qualities, such as shape, color, or form, that pleases the aesthetic senses, especially the sight. (Google)
Also, defined as the quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind, whether arising from sensory manifestations (as shape, color, sound, etc.), a meaningful design or pattern, or something else (as a personality in which high spiritual qualities are manifest). (Dictionary.com)
Physical Spaces- After reading these definitions of beauty, I’m sure you wish to have beauty around you everywhere. A beautiful bedroom sanctuary like you see on Pinterest, or a beautiful garden with a flowers and butterflies and a nice sitting area. This is what comes to my mind at least. There is no way around it, the things you surround yourself with matter. As much as you may try to ignore the pile of papers on the counter, subconsciously those papers are taking up space in your mind. Things that detract beauty from the space are being noticed more than you may think. That’s why decluttering, organizing and keeping your spaces clear of clutter are so important. You know this because once you have cleaned a space, you get pleasure out of seeing that space clean every time you look at it. Imagine your refrigerator. You open the door and see expired mayo and three opened, half-used containers of milk with varying expiration dates. You open the vegetable drawer and oops, the carrots are a bit slimy now and the leafy greens have wilted, plus you notice a funky smell, despite placing some baking soda in the door. By the way, does the baking soda even do anything? I’m sure we can all imagine this experience. Now remember, when you cleaned out the entire fridge and threw away all the expired items and were left with clean, white, odorless space. Each time you opened the door, you experienced a sense of pleasure and pride in being able to see everything in there and knowing everything was available for use. Maybe cleaning out the fridge had cascading effects like sparking you to do a bit of healthier cooking too! The beauty you create in your surroundings both big and small are additive to pleasure you experience in your physical spaces. Try cleaning out your refrigerator this week, adding an indoor plant like an ivy to your bathroom or office space, or putting on some beautiful tunes in the background instead of having the television on.
Mental Space- Beauty it’s not just the things you experience in your five physical senses. You experience beauty in your mind, in your thoughts, and in your feelings. When you see a beautiful sunset, you are experiencing it physically when it is happening, but you are capturing that beauty in your mind long after the sun has set and it is dark. That is the power of your mind. It can hold experiences and memories. When I see something beautiful or have a beautiful moment with my husband, I like to take a “picture memory” so I can draw upon it later to re-experience the moment. I first heard this idea from Brene Brown as she was telling a story about her daughter doing this to remember special events in her life. I adopted this and find it so fun and whimsical to do.
Relationships- When if comes to relationships, intimate or friendships, you are most likely looking for qualities beyond physical appearance. Beauty can be found in how caring your friend is when teaching some children about bugs. Beauty can be your significant other looking like a total mess after waking up in the morning. I find that beauty in others are the things I cherish about them, the things that make me tear up a little just thinking about, because those are the things that make life rich to me. They are the things that make me feel lucky to have them in my life. This week stay on the lookout for the beauty you find in the people in your life. Intentionally notice it and appreciate it. Bonus points if you actually tell the person what you cherish about them.
Final Thoughts on Beauty
Beauty is surrounding us all of the time. Look outside. See people. Read that again. Don’t look at people, SEE them! The more beauty you open yourself up to, the greater you will feel about yourself, your surroundings and the people in your life. As always, question everything you have in your life and make a new decision about it. If you don’t like your physical space, take steps to declutter and keep only the things that are beautiful to you. I hope you have the most BEAUTY-filled week!
I truly want to hear from you. Send your comments and share what you tried this week. If you want coaching about any of these topic or how to create more abundance in your life, head on over to my contact page.