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The world is a beautiful place full of landscapes, sunsets and smiles created by a simple stroke of God’s love and artistry for us to enjoy and celebrate. Beauty means different things to each of us as we look at the world through discerning eyes and with varied taste and interest. It is indeed how we choose to see beauty, feel beauty and embrace what is beautiful that determines our ability to soak it in and enjoy it. Beauty is an individual interpretation of both our physical and spiritual world. Beauty resides as much in our mind and heart as it does in our senses. A beautiful moment, a beautiful view of nature, a beautiful person are all a blended product of our own individual soul and our personal definition of beauty. 

We all find beauty in a myriad of places and in a wide variety of experiences. Some of life’s beauty comes to us in a simplistic manner while other things need the complexity of a universal uniqueness created only by the randomness of its being.  It is the random originality of our universe that brings so much beauty to us to enjoy. No two people are alike. No two sunrises or sunsets are duplicated. No two snowflakes share a common design. Everything and everyone is beautiful in their own way and in their own singularity amongst the background of the universe. The beauty that is recognized is as individual as the person who is the observer…the beholder of that beauty. 

The most profound aspect of finding the beauty in someone, something, some experience is that we can capture the image in our mind’s eye, much like a camera. We store that image in our consciousness to be visited over and over again at some future time and place. The beauty in our world is not a competition, but a measure and unique sample of the magnitude of what is good, kind, loving, and pleasing. It is our personal choice as to what we deem to be beautiful in our lives. Beauty is also a personal interpretation of our own preferences and reactions to the stimulus that surround us constantly. 

Beauty is not merely a mental snapshot of some physical object, person or event.  It is also a captured emotional moment in time…a vision…a dream…a fantasy. Beauty is not something that we have to actively seek. It often surprises us in varied moments of time and situations when we least expect it. We tend to find what we seek in life and create our own world through our thoughts and actions. Beauty is also an attitude that allows us to see and appreciate the best in life…in ourselves…in the world…in others. No two of us react to the stimulus of life and life experiences in the same manner. 

It is our mind, heart, and soul that seek to find the beauty in all things. We often harbor thoughts that beauty lies in perfection…a blemish free experience or encounter. The world is a masterpiece of evolution and imperfection in which we sit daily as the judge in our own court of life. We view the world through many lenses and various time intervals intertwined with our own personal standards and creation. Beauty is an explosion of our propensity to seek love and goodness. It is the originality of the imperfections that produce the unique beauty that we recognize. 

Our perception and recognition of beauty may also reside in our life experiences and the appreciation that often may accompany a higher level of gratitude as we move through the years and the seasons of our life. Beauty tends to present us with a more relaxed and tolerant mindset. Finding the beauty in something or someone is akin to recognizing the beauty in a unique piece of art. A heart and soul trained to recognize beauty in all forms can uncover it even if it has lay dormant for a period of time. Beauty in our mind and soul does not tarnish or fade with time. 

To recognize beauty is to pay homage to both the creative mind and the artistic stroke in the labor. A work of art can be duplicated, copied or mass produced without destroying the innate beauty. However, it is the original work of the creator that will prove to be the most valued…the most appreciated…the most admired. So it is in nature and in the beauty associated with our world and all of God’s creation. It is the preservation of the world’s original beauty that assures the appreciation of the work of the creator. 

Nature presents us with a never-ending array of individual beauty. No two trees in the forest are alike. Their beauty is independent of the other trees and plants and might even change with the seasons. So it is with animals and people as well.  Our ability to recognize beauty lies in our own personal preferences, attitudes and expectations. A heart and mind that is filled with love will tend to search with open eyes and soul to find the beauty that abounds. To find the beauty in the world and others, we must recognize and honor the beauty that lies within us. A soul devoid of love will only search for the potential plainness and inelegance of life. 

It is our thoughts, attitudes and approach to life that will determine our ability to recognize and enjoy the abundant beauty. 

If we dwell on the negative, the imperfections, the inadequacies, then that is what we will find and experience. Our personal definition of beauty originates from within and through our creative imagination to see the possibility of a flowering tree in our mind, even when it is bare in the depths of winter. Beauty is our ability to find the best in another human, even when they are homeless, hungry and worn. Beauty is our ability to appreciate the storm with the confidence that the sun will shine brightly again. 

Helen Keller, famous author and disability rights advocate noted, “The most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched—they must be felt with the heart.” The Bible tells us in Ecclesiastes Chapter 3 Verse 11, “He has made everything beautiful in his time.” God has infused beauty into all of creation and all of us. It is our mission to recognize and honor the beauty that abounds. It is our senses in general and our Soul in particular that should seek and behold the love and beauty in all things. Beauty is not found in perfection but rather in the uniqueness of expression of universal love and kindness. The recognition of beauty in the world speaks as loudly about the beholder as it does the wondrous works of God and the Universe. 

Fred Clausen 

Fred’s latest book is The Divine Order of Our Random Life: A Collection of Teachable Moments and Human Observation. He is also the author of The Fork in the Road Leads Home: Reflections From My Life's Journeys...A Collection of Essays and The Essential Elements of Successful Coaching