Tomorrow marks the one-month anniversary of the launch of Glimsen. Thank you for reading! I hope you’ve enjoyed catching a glimpse of beauty with me.
In honor of the anniversary, today’s post is a little different. Periodically, I’ll have question and answer posts that give practical ideas about the beauty around us.
So, on to today’s question.
Q: My days are a series of meetings, commutes, wait times, kids’ practices, and boring chicken dinners. I feel like I’m moving through a dull, gray fog. How can I add more beauty to my life?
A: My life has been dull and gray at times, too--almost lifeless. Here are a few quick and easy ideas to get you started:
• Get up early enough to watch the sunrise. Grab a cup of coffee or tea and find the best view you can. Or if you’re in the car, turn off whatever you’re listening to and spend a few minutes watching and savoring.
• Take a walk in a new place, and enjoy the sights, sounds, and smells of nature. Snap a few pictures to remind yourself of what you enjoyed or found interesting on your walk.
• Buy an inexpensive bouquet of flowers for yourself, your spouse, or your office. Put the flowers in an area where they will be seen and appreciated by you and others.
• Put art books, postcards, photos, or even works of art on your desk, in your kitchen, on the coffee table, or on the walls. When you have a few minutes, thumb through them for inspiration. Rotate the items regularly with new, fresh pieces.
• Listen to music at a time when you wouldn’t normally do so. Check out a new genre and see how it changes your attitude or wakes up your brain.
• Instead of checking your phone when you’re on a lunch break or waiting for an appointment, read from a book of poetry or essays, a classic novel, or some other type of writing that you enjoy. Pay attention to what you like about it. Mark the passage so you’ll remember to go back to it again.
• If you’re a parent, teach your kids to look for beauty. One of my daughter’s first words was “faffer”—or flower, because I often pointed out the flowers on our walks. Make a game of looking for different types of beauty, and share the joy of finding them with your kids.
What are your ideas? I’d love to hear them. And if you have any questions that I could address in future blog posts, please leave a comment below.