NEVER GIVE UP THE QUEST FOR BEAUTY

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woollen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with string
These are a few of my favourite things

Cream coloured ponies and crisp apple strudels
Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings
These are a few of my favourite things.

Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes
Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes
Silver white winters that melt into spring
These are a few of my favourite things

When the dog bites, when the bee stings
When I’m feeling sad
I simply remember my favourite things
And then I don’t feel so bad

– Rodgers and Hammerstein

 

Not long ago, someone (let’s call her Mallory) said to me, ” You have an incredible eye for beauty, where the ordinary person sees nothing but the mundane, you see beauty.  I wish I saw the world through your eyes”.

“I wish I saw the world through your eyes”

I cannot even begin to tell you how much that remark annoyed me.  She said it as though I were one of the privileged few who’ve been blessed with magical rose coloured spectacles while the majority of people get dished out a pair of cheap plastic readers from the local supermarket.

I get the distinct impression that Mallory and like-minded people, make remarks like that in order to give themselves an excuse to be forlorn and cheerless about life.

How they love to sneer at those who post photos of their pets, babies, what they ate for lunch and their (yawn) oh so boring holiday photos on social media.

Rolling their eyeballs they snort derisively at any attempt to convince them that there is beauty and goodness in the world.  They would have us believe that it’s gauche to cultivate a positive outlook in life.

Mallory has two theories; either the misguided “happy” fools are too dumb to realise what is really going on in the world or they have never experienced a bad day in their lives ergo it’s easy for them to be positive and see beauty in the mundane and ordinary.

Stuff and nonsense!  The majority are well aware of what is going on and that is precisely the reason they strive to find some happiness, beauty and love amidst the constant onslaught of pain, misery, torture and killing served up by the media each and every day, at least twice a day.

If Mallory would, for just a moment, stop focussing on herself, she may discover that despite appearances, everyone has had or is having their own share of unhappiness, loneliness, misery, fear, pain and sadness.

Many of us are NOT naturally happy, positive, confident people.

We are, for better or worse, all lumped together on this crazy planet wondering why the heck we are here and trying to make sense of it all.

Half the time we are winging it, the rest of the time we are attempting to fix the SNAFUS we made in the first half.

Everyone struggles. No-one has all the answers.  We love, hate, judge, fight, battle with melancholia, rage, depression, despair, envy.  We’re ultra-sensitive, overanalytical and overthink almost everything, all the while wondering will we ever grow up?

So what do you think would happen if we allowed ourselves to obsess and focus on images of horror and misery, torture and pain all of the time?  Would that fix anything? I think not.  It would merely exacerbate the problem.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not for a moment suggesting that we should close our eyes, stick our fingers in our ears and sing “la la la la la la la la la la la”, totally oblivious to what is happening around and to us.

What I am saying is this; despite our situation, it is the responsibility of each and every one of us to find delight, love, beauty and joy in our lives.

It’s not the responsibility of our spouse, children, parents or boss, the responsibility lies with us.  Rest assured, it’s frigging hard work, some days it feels like two steps forward and one step back, it requires dedication and commitment but the alternative is to allow your soul to wither and die.

You will never find joy by constantly filling up your senses with hateful, awful things.

Train yourself to look for beauty, it’s everywhere, no need to take a trip to some amazing place to find it, it’s right under your nose if you will only begin to be aware of it.

How about this; imagine you’re driving down the highway not really paying attention to any of the other vehicles, but now what if I told you to start counting how many blue cars you could see in the space of half an hour, you’d really start to notice the blue cars wouldn’t you?  Beauty and misery both work the same way.

You’ll find what you are looking for.  It’s not rocket science.

Unfortunately I’m unable to share these words with Mallory, she allowed herself to be swallowed up in a quicksand of wretchedness and gloom that is way beyond my reach.

That’s why I’m telling YOU, before it’s too late.

In order to get through each day with as much dignity and joy as possible, whatever your circumstances, it is imperative that you create your own magical rose coloured spectacles and strive to see beauty in the world.

It’s there, trust me, it’s there.

Keep looking.  I know it’s not easy.

Some days it’s a huge challenge but you have to at least try, for your own sake, sanity and peace of mind.

Beauty is food for the soul, it’s a light that illuminates the darkness.

 

Beauty is seeking you, allow yourself to be found.

Moira ♥