Beautiful Timing

Though I was happy for Gar as he began his nice adventure yesterday, my heart always hurts when I must be apart from a loved one.  Fortuitous timing brought the arrival, within an hour of his departure, of a beautiful monthly floral delivery from Julia.

When we do nice things for others we don't always know how significant the impact may be.

Human Diamonds

Many of the most resilient people I know are human diamonds, all the more empathetic and special because of their trials and tribulations.

Human diamonds are strong, beautiful, brilliant, multi-faceted, treasured and revealed through volcanic action.

Beauty of the Detour

Most often, when challenged by a detour, I fret.  Expected timed appearance is usually the source of my detour stress. This weekend I had the chance to embrace the beauty of a detour.  My run route was altered by a fire truck attending to a gas leak, caused by demolition, so that a home site can be reconstructed for new owners.

Had I been racing to my next meeting, I would have been stressed.  Fortunately, I'd already altered my weekend schedule and readily adjusted my route.  The detour allowed me to drop a layer of clothing along the route, increase the length of my run and see what's happening in a different part of my neighborhood.

Cloudascope

I've previously expressed my fascination with kaleidoscopes. The sky offers a readily available and often over-looked natural kaleidoscope.  Ever-changing clouds and lighting provide unique visual effects each time we pause to appreciate the artistry.

Beauty of Imperfection

I'm a largely recovered perfectionist who knows that doing something well is far better than failing to do anything because I'm waiting until it's just right.  But reminders help. The beautiful rose that Edgar placed in a vase in my home office before I got home yesterday reminded of the beauty of imperfection.  This lovely flower had one nonconforming petal.  I intentionally waited to pluck the errant petal, to focus on the flower's overall beauty.  Oddly this minor and easily remedied imperfection provided not only the gift of beauty but also a wonderful visual lesson.

Stopping to Smell a Rose

Each morning I walk briskly through the neighborhood, rarely stopping, unless there's a chance to catch up briefly with friend.  However, when I spotted the neighborhood's one perfect yellow rose in full bloom, I was compelled to stop and enjoy its fragrance.  This unexpected beautiful blossom was my vivid reminder that it only takes a moment to brighten a day - our own or another's.

Perpetual Flowers

I have a Herend rose, Waterford daisy and Lalique daffodil beside my home computer keyboard.  They are beautiful and inspirational even without their special meaning.  Their beauty is enhanced because I love each of the givers.  Live flowers bring great temporary joy and perpetual flowers bring great continuing joy.  We all have the opportunity to share various blooms - words, cards, cut flowers from our yards, grocery or florist and art work or works of art.

May we all appreciate the beauty and inspiration perpetually blooming all around us.

What's He/She Like?

My last post about Beauty sent me down memory lane.  When I arrived in Houston as a new undergrad, I naturally developed friendships with others similarly situated. I was most fortunate to quickly develop a network that included fresh Houston transplants, established Houstonians and native Houstonians.

My vivid recollection of introductions for every single person I knew included my character/skills/traits/basic bio description.  Only when pressed did I add a physical description.  With many years of life and work experience, I hope that more and more people will choose to describe others by the beauty of their being, versus their superficial appearance.

Beauty is So(ul) Deep

Beautiful hearts, minds, souls, acts, actions and impacts are the beauty elements that really matter. 

Creativity

Everything is blooming!  Flowers are abundantly available at reasonable prices all over town. What a marvelous way to brighten our homes and express our creativity!  I love getting bunches of roses perfectly tinted for our decor and arranging them in a variety of individual and grouped vases throughout our living areas. In addition to our beautiful vases, I love finding unexpected containers and filling them with blooms that we grow and acquire.  Spring vividly reminds us of the beauty of life!

Kaleidoscope

I've been fascinated with kaleidoscopes for as long as I can remember.  I love the constant change of colors and patterns.  And I love the way that varying amounts of light changes the intensity of the colors' shades.  Our church has a magnificent round stained glass window above the alter.  It's always beautiful, but when the sun is shining brightly, the vibrant colors intensify.  When you stare long enough, the images blur and this work of art becomes  an enormous, spectacular kaleidoscope.  This secondary beauty is probably nothing that the artist ever anticipated.  Beauty truly is defined by the beholder.