Monday, April 1, 2013

Beauty

Beauty is not defined universally.  It is almost a wholly personal thing, I think.

Sure, there are some things that many of us can agree on - roses, a cherry tree in bloom, the ocean on a beautiful day - but often the things, the scenery, the people that I think are beautiful may mean nothing to someone else.

We all have our own taste, our own experiences, our own lens through which we experience the world.  The meaning we impart to the world, to what we see, often defines whether or not we consider it beautiful.


the most beautiful hummingbirds in the world - I think that because they come and see ME every year...
I was thinking about beauty the other other night when I was sitting reading in my little chair in the corner of my living room.  I looked over into the dining room and seeing my mother's portrait, against the gold-green wall, over the chaise, just seemed achingly beautiful to me. 


look you can even see my ruby slipper...
 So I snapped a picture, but of course, I couldn't capture the essence of that moment.  Sometimes we can do that through our camera lens, sometimes we can't.  Sometimes it is just enough to remember.

I remember years ago, in our old house, Barry was giving our kids a bath.  They were probably aged 1 and 4.  They were laughing hysterically, and the summer light was streaming in the hallway window onto the old hardwood floors and it was just a moment of perfect happiness and beauty.  I thought to myself "I have to remember this moment" and I always have, and I was glad that I was present enough (how many times when we had little kids were we just going through the motions?) to know it was a beautiful, happy moment in time.  And it is as alive to me now as this moment in time when I am writing this blog post.  Thank God for our minds!

Colour almost always triggers feelings of beauty in me, as do patinas, worn things, how the light is hitting something.   Most days, we live in our spaces and while we like them and enjoy them (we did typically decorate them, so I assume we mostly enjoy them!) we may not see them.  But then every once in awhile, a moment happens and what was mundane or typical suddenly becomes special and treasured. 

People are also like that.  The more you get to know and like someone, the more beautiful they become to you.  I am always telling my husband "so-and-so is so beautiful!" and then when he meets them he says "well, sure, they are nice, but I wouldn't describe them as beautiful.."  But he would if he knew them better, I think.  Or maybe not.  Beauty is a personal thing.  And he might never like them like I do. 


Barry photo-bombing - when I first found these pictures, I thought "What the hell?"

Sometimes, you are in agreement.  Barry had never seen Ema before we met her in New York City.  While I always thought Ema was lovely from her blog, I thought she was truly beautiful once I met her and realized she was indeed a kindred spirit.  Barry agreed!



Sometimes all we need to do is look at a picture and we are immediately back in the moment.  And sometimes, even if the moment itself didn't seem particularly special at the time, it becomes special because we remember the person in the picture, what they were saying, what they were doing.


Son sitting by setting sun in South of France...

Sometimes we are fortunate, and we stumble upon beauty.  Sometimes someone has "gifted" us by making a space lovely...


.....other times, higher powers are at work



One of my vows in 2013 was to be more in the moment.  As I have said, I am taking more time to really look at the world around me, really listen to the conversations, really enjoy what the world is offering every day. 

If you don't mind, from time to time I might share some of that beauty with you.  And my thoughts about it, not only to remind myself, but because I find when I tell you all about, you folks who have become my "friends from away", it seems more real. 

As Keats said so famously (and which I wrote a paper about in high school and only received a B+!):

When old age shall this generation waste,
Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe
Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou sayst,
"Beauty is truth, truth beauty," – that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.

And your beauty is your truth.

So have a beautiful Monday, and stay safe out there!

And no, this is NOT an April's Fool Post!  I thought about telling you all I was pregnant, but who would believe that?  Well, my waistband, but no one else!

34 comments:

  1. I am sighing over the photo of the walled courtyard. Beautiful indeed.

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    1. Oh know - I don;t think there are many things in this world I lke better than a walled courtyard with greenery!

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  2. That's why Palmer is the most beautiful bird to me. ;)

    I think the essence of that moment of your mother's portrait against the wall, over the chaise and with the light streaming through the window does come through a little. And your last line made me laugh.

    Beautiful, beautiful post. I love it.

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    1. tr - you are right - palmer is your most beutiful bird!

      glad the last line made you laugh - if it had been real, this would have been a weepy post! ;-)

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  3. Wendy, you've really made me feel like a kindred spirit too. This post could have easily poured out of my fingertips and onto my screen. I too perceive beauty in that way, and cannot "unsee" it. Did you ever see Shallow Hal? Like that. It is such a blessing to live like that.
    My husband likes to rave about my beauty everywhere, but I always warn him to not set the expectation too high! I always joke that these people are going to meet me and think he is nuts, but I find it so endearing that he puts his credibility on the line to brag about his wife ;)

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    1. oh my gosh - that is so sweet about your husband! i have seen shallow hal! forgot about that one! I am sure we are indeed kindred spirits!

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  4. A++ Now that I am finished guffawing over the April Fool's treacle cutter, WMM, this deserves that other bit of Keats:

    "A thing of beauty is a joy forever: its loveliness increses; it will never pass into nothingness."

    Thank you for capturing those and sharing your beautiful moments with us this Monday. Well written and happily read. I am so glad you are getting to live more in the moment. And I look forward to the hummingbirds. This Einstein quote (I know, huh) always reminds me of you and this past year. "The pursuit of truth and beauty is a sphere of activity in whiche we are permitted to remain children all our lives."

    Good Monday!

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    1. Thanks! I am unfamiliar with that Einstein quote, so that is great!!! It is a rainy day here after 3 days of sun - that means paying bills and going through the closet! Yippee!

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    2. You CAN do it! Pretty sunrise here today, streets still pretty empty, maybe most of city works for banks or post office, has gone to QC for bonus day?

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    3. I am pretty sure that everyone is TO works for the banks!

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    4. Except me. (Although I have to admit I wouldn't mind "banker's hours".)

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  5. I know that terrace in France very well and that is a beautiful place!
    I love this post Wendy! It is so often the light on something that makes me notice the beauty of it.

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    1. I think we must all be drawn universally to the sun - must be completely in our DNA!

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  6. Thank you for another great post! I could easily imagine myself in that courtyard. It is exquisite.

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    1. I KNOW! It is amazing - that is one of my goals with my garden this summer! I need more spaces like that, though it will be hard to creat a 1000 year old wall..

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  7. This gave me goosebumps, what a truly beautiful post, I often thinking that appreciating and finding beauty is the purpose to life.

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    1. I think you are right! They (whoever they are) say that making things beautiful is the ultimate expression of love both for yourself and for others.

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  8. Very beautiful and thoughtful post. Your mother's painting is so achingly beautiful, as you said. Would love to see it closer and know more about it. Thank you for this.

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    1. Hi Kathy - will send you some information on this offside if you are interested!

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    2. Yes I am - do you have my email? I would love to see this more closely.

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    3. Imagine a world in which people sat still long enough to be painted. Beautiful, WMM

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    4. Lane, so much more enduring than an Instagram snap (although those can be lovely in their own way too).

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    5. I know! I need to learn to paint better!

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  9. Reflections on a moment, yes, that is often the most beautiful. I love the imagery of your small children at bathtime with the sun dappling the floor. The moments of loveliness are the essence of beauty. Thank you for writing this. :)

    My three children, they are my muses, my beauty ideals, my moments of lovely. My heart has swollen to many times its original size upon glancing at them in sleep, with their tender, fat, little hands curled up in a ball near their faces. Or the times I catch them sitting still, staring at something with their big bright eyes.

    BTW, your comments to me last week were so spot on, thank you for taking the time to talk with me. :) I don't know how to break through to other groups of women, but having read your response makes me feel that it will happen with the right women, and really, that's what I want!

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    1. Dina - I am so glad it helped and I hear you on your children! I just so enjoy your blog (though I can't figure out how to comment - working on that!) and find you so funny that I can't imagine every person you meet wouldn't want to jump all over you!

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  10. Lovely and thoughtful post Wendy. The portrait of your mother over the chaise looks beautiful to me too. I'm a bird lover and look forward to the hummingbirds returning every spring. They are very special. In fall the blue jays come to feast on the sunflowers that I plant, specifically for the birds. It's a thing of beauty to me, but husband would prefer to till them under instead of having the frozen, raggedy stalks through the winter.

    "Sometimes we can do that through our camera lens, sometimes we can't."
    - This is why many people think they are great photographers. They are remembering the moment more than just looking at the photo and others do not see the same thing. For anyone who sits through a slideshow of photos it helps to remember that and just smile sweetly.

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    1. xoxo I also think a lot of people miss part of the magic now because they are so busy capturing it on their cell phones. While I understand the power of documenting and sharing, often in a "wish you were here" sense, I think more and more people see the world filtered through a lens instead of for its essence.

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    2. HI xoxo and GF - think you are right! And you are so right - most photographs are only meaningful to the person, and they never capture the moment, such as "that courtyard - I remember that's when I went in looking for a door and ended up in someone else's kitchen.." Funny for people there, never captured. That's why I love the 1 second video idea as all you need is the split second image to go back!

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    3. I totally agree. One of my friends was recently lamenting that they didn't capture a particular moment with photos or video. I told her, "But you lived it, and that is the most important thing." Seemed like a small consolation.

      I think we can compile so many photos or videos that it's overwhelming to even look through them at times. It took me 4 hours to sort through and upload photos to a digital frame recently. Fun to see the photos but I don't want to do that again anytime soon.

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  11. What a lovely post to start my day. I have taken a day off from work and am sitting here right now enjoying a cup of coffee leisurely with my children's laughter in the background and warm rays of sun filtering through the windows. This is the kind of beauty that you have described and I will enjoy it fully. I refuse to think of work that awaits me tomorrow, it will come soon enough! Here's to many more mindful moments in our lives and thank you for reminding me to cherish them.

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    1. Marie, I think of all the time I have wasted thinking of what might happen in the next day or weeks and miss the moment, and then half the things we think are going to happen don't anyway! ENjoy your day off and the lovely sunshine!

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  12. What a lovely post Wendy. I am so looking forward to the garden greening up with spring and the return of the hummers. I really must get a feeder this year. The post about how we are drawn like magnets to the sun is very timely. I am currently experiencing 73F from my lounge chair. My surroundings are my idea of beauty: palmettos, great live oak trees dripping with Spanish moss, blooming hot pink azaleas, yellow butterflies, birds singing. My children are happily away frim homework and hubs has gone to a wildlife refuge to phitograph nature whuch is his idea of beauty. Wish I could bring it back and share with you all!

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    1. I will be right over! I am so happy for you to be in such a wonderful place!!!!

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    2. Come on down and bring a proofreader. Ye Gads the errors!

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Kindness is a virtue...