A Daily Dose of Beauty

“A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his 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 ~

Just as we need food, water and oxygen to live, so also do we need beauty in our lives to survive and thrive.  Exposing ourselves to beauty on a daily basis helps maintain good mental, emotional and spiritual health and well-being. Beauty brings consolation in sorrow, affirmation in joy and the sense that life is worth living.  If you have been through a difficult emotional, physical or spiritual experience, exposing yourself to beauty in its various forms (art, music, nature, etc…) can be extremely healing.

Everyone needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and cheer and give strength to body and soul alike.  

~ John Muir~

Plato believed that beauty is the sign of another, and higher, order.  The experience of beauty calls us to the divine and our need for beauty is part of our nature.  The Creator knows how important it is to our well-being to keep our minds on what is positive and uplifting.  He exhorts us to this in what has become one of my favorite verses in the Bible:

“Finally brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.” 

~Philippians 4:8~

This is not just God’s equivalent of a Hallmark card sentiment. He is telling us to deliberately fix our minds on things worthy of praise. Just as eating right and exercising are critical to good health so is having beauty in our lives. When we are sick we often reach for medicine with the hope it will make us well.  I propose that in order to maintain good health in all capacities we need a “Daily Dose of Beauty.”  With this in mind, one of the intentions for www.paleospirit.com is that it serve as a forum for sharing beautiful thoughts and images.

As this site evolves, I would like nothing better than to have reader participation in sharing beauty in its various forms.  I will be posting images, poems, quotes, scripture verses and other things of beauty that I find personally inspiring and healing. If you have ideas and/or actual submissions please send them my way and I will post them in the “Daily Dose of Beauty” section.

I urge you to make sure you find something beautiful to appreciate every day and make it part of your routine.  It does not have to take a lot of time and effort because beauty can be found around us no matter what the circumstances. Stop and smell a flower, take a photo of something simple and make it beautiful, listen to wild birds singing for five minutes, read a story of heroism, look at a beautiful piece of art or listen to a musical masterpiece – anything to get your RDA (recommended daily allowance) of beauty.

“I thank you God for this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes.”  

~e.e. cummings~