This month, I have challenged each of us to awaken to the beauty in life and its experiences. Perhaps that is why I was drawn to this quote by Emily Dickinson who wrote: “Beauty is not caused. It is.” As we focus on our connection to the Divine and the presence of the Divine in us, we are better able to appreciate beauty in everything we see, touch, and experience. As John Keats's observed in Ode on a Grecian Urn: 'Beauty is truth, truth beauty.' As we live in the truth of who we are as spiritual beings brought here by the Ultimate, we can begin to recognize not only the beauty within ourselves but all of life. Each time we see beauty, we see a symbol of the Divine. Every time we encounter truth, we encounter a symbol of the Creative Spirit. Every day of our lives, we are invited to experience the beauty in each day.
Each day we have the choice about the attitude and intentionality through which we are going to view the world and our lives. We can choose to seek out the beauty, truth and life or we can choose not to. We have the choice to see the beauty in a situation or not.
Wayne Dyer in his book, The Power of Intention, shared this story about seeing beauty. It was told by Swami Chidvilasananda, better known as Gurumayi, in her beautiful book, Kindle My Heart.
"There was a man who did not like his in-laws because he felt they took up more space in the house than they should. He went to a teacher who lived nearby, as he had heard a lot about him, and he said, 'Please do something! I cannot bear my in-laws anymore. I love my wife, but my in-laws — never! They take up so much space in the house; somehow I feel they are always in my way.'
"The teacher asked him, 'Do you have some chickens?' 'Yes, I do,' he said.
" 'Then put all your chickens inside the house.'
"He did what the teacher said and then went back to him. The teacher asked, 'Problem solved?'
"He said, 'No! It's worse.'
" 'Do you have any sheep?'
" 'Yes.'
" 'Bring all the sheep inside.' He did so and returned to the teacher. 'Problem solved?'
" 'No! It's getting worse.'
" 'Do you have a dog?'
" 'Yes, I have several.'
" 'Take all those dogs into the house.'
"Finally, the man ran back to the teacher and said, 'I came to you for help, but you are making my life worse than ever!'
"The teacher said to him, 'Now send all the chickens, sheep, and dogs back outside.'
"The man went home and emptied the house of all the animals. There was so much space! He went back to the teacher. 'Thank you! Thank you!' he said. 'You have solved all my problems.' "
May this story remind us to see the beauty in our lives.