The world is full of beauty — why do we so often choose to focus on the ugly? I could try to answer that question for you, but I’m not going to, because that would be focusing on the negative. Instead, I choose to focus on the positive.
There are hundreds if not thousands of beautiful things around me from the mug of tea steeping on the table to the memory of the friend who came over to read with me this morning. Some are concrete, some more abstract. All are visible if I choose to see them.
Today I choose to see them.
{today’s exercise}
Make a list of things you’re thankful for. You can stop there, or you can choose one line that stands out to you and write a poem surrounding that single concept. Write words and phrases that are as expressive as the emotions they inspire.
{my process and my poem}
This morning as I write, I reflect not only on the many things I’m thankful for that surround me in the present, but also the memories of the road trip I took this past week and a half. This is the beauty I see:
- the welcoming arms of a once-stranger turned family
- being appreciated
- home-cooked meals after time on the road
- strong arms holding me up when I’m too weak to stand
- grace and favor pulling me out of depression and fear
- a wife helping her husband pull off an epic event
- two beautiful people leading their six sons into a passion-filled creative life
- foot massage after too much standing
- baby smiles and peek-a-boo
- meeting the people behind the internet profiles
- life-changing conversations about what drives us to create
- playing a new game with new friends and old after dinner
- a beautiful garden of relationships growing and blooming