Beauty is a state of being

We don't buy beauty.  Beauty is a state of being.  True beauty is found in the moments.  It catches our breath and expands our heart.

 I remember stripping coatings off slate floors.  A plastic, shiny, muddled coating covering up.  When we  removed the coating, I was amazed time and time again how the real beauty became visible.  It wasn't something to be added but something to be removed.  The essence of the stone of was there all along.

When I looked at those floors, when Dallas looked, what we started seeing was the texture, the colors, the lines, the art.  We saw images and even fossils of plants imbedded in those slate floors.  The idea of covering up the true authentic beauty of something naturally created millions of years ago seemed wrong. It was such a waste.

To be able to see beauty is a practice in seeing.  Shiny and enhanced beauty is easy to spot- but that kind of beauty can be washed off, or stripped off.  The kind of beauty I'm talking about is awareness of a deep beauty.  I see it in winter, when the leaves are gone.  The trees become works of art.  I saw this beauty when I would travel to see my family in Holyoke Colorado.   Driving in plains of Colorado, miles and miles of sage brush, rolling hills and open space, my heart would expand. -literally- I could feel it.  So can my mom.

I can see this beauty in myself when I wake up, all ruffled and messy from sleep.  Or come in from a run or walk in the woods.  Nothing fancy- just happy.  I see this beauty in acts of kindness, creative ideas, play.  I saw it in the my friend as we walked in the woods this morning.  I even see it in myself.

Just a moment in time...this morning

To me beauty is a practice.  If you want to be beautiful.  Learn to see beauty, to feel beauty, to give beauty.  To be present, nourished and at ease.  To eat foods that nourish your skin, your cells, your digestive system and your soul.  To sleep deeply and richly.  To smile for the pure joy of smiling and as a practice of smiling.

If you like wearing make up and it gives you joy, it is part of your creative essence that's beautiful too.  When you wash off your make up, your creative expression, and look in the mirror, smile at the radiant being looking back at you.  Like the naked slate floors...this is where the true beauty lives.

 Early morning walk in the woods, this is a great place to find true beauty!!