When Beauty Rises
|
Hello friends, When was the last time you paused because something was so beautiful, you needed a moment? When was the last time you were emotionally moved by nature, a painting, a song, a film, a dance? And how often do you make space to welcome beauty in your life? “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” wrote Margaret Wolfe Hungerford. She was speaking of subjectivity. That each of us finds different things—objects, people, places—beautiful. But there’s more to it than simple taste or attraction. The key is in her word, “beholder.” That’s us. In order to see, hear, taste, smell, or touch beauty, we must be open to behold it. Beauty requires our presence in order to emerge. When beauty rises in front of us, and we are there to witness it, we witness and share in life itself. A life spent half present is not a life fully lived. The less present we are, the more tenuous our connection to the stuff of life becomes. Beauty brings us back toward presence, whether in joy or pain. I hope you make time this week to drink that in. And breathe. Best wishes — Thorn
|
T. Thorn Coyle
Hello friends, I took the train yesterday, from northern Oregon to the middle of Washington State, heading for a big reader conference called Lore and Luster, where I'll be selling books and meeting readers for two days. We crossed the Columbia River, and beheld the snow capped beauty of Mount Hood. We passed small old towns and countryside, brick buildings, and stands of trees. Four astronauts just made a broad circuit around the moon, sending home photos of astonishing beauty, and pictures...
Hello friends, Whenever times feel overwhelming, and I’m not sure what to do about it, I return to the basics: prioritizing creativity, going for walks, and local mutual aid. Why? The world always needs more creativity, the healthier I am the better able I am to help, and mutual aid or community service offer tangible, immediate help. The other thing I think about is the importance of building networks, which is a simple thing we all do, every day, whether we realize it or not. Some of us...
Hello friends, I had oral surgery last week, and now that I’m able to eat kind-of-solid-but-still-mushy food, I’m making oatmeal every morning. As a consequence, I’ve been engaging in some simple honey magic. No, I’m not harvesting my own honey. No, I’m not leaving a jar of honey out beneath the full moon. Those are two magical things to do, but my ambitions right now are simpler. All I am doing is this: Gathering some honey on a teaspoon, I drizzle the golden amber substance into the bottom...