“Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.”
―Henry James
What short phrase perfectly evokes beauty for you?
Seahorse
“Hey,” said Evolution, “I have a great idea. Let’s make a kind of a fish that isn’t really a fish with a curly tail and a fin on its back and a sucker-tube mouth. And let’s have the dads raise the babies. That will be awesome!” And it is. It really is.
What do you find beautiful because, rather than in spite of, its strangeness?
Practicing Beauty
“A [person] should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of [their] life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.”
― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
What regular practice do you have to bring beauty into your life?
Impressionist
The Impressionists were on to something when they painted in blurred images that captured light as much as form. Beauty is often less in the things we see than in how we see them.
What do you find beautiful because of what you bring to it?
Beautiful People
“The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.”
―Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
Who have you witnessed becoming more beautiful with age?