Daily Beauty, Day #5: Ever-present

It is easier to see beauty on beautiful days.

This claim is hardly revolutionary. When the sky is blue and the sun beats down and the air is mild and clear, beauty leaps to the forefront of our vision, demanding to be seen and appreciated. We marvel at the wonder and feel joy for things we had not noticed before. But on dreary days of rain and sleet and slush, on days when it is dark and no light penetrates the wall of clouds, beauty may seem to be hidden.

I’m not only referring to nature here. These beautiful blue sky days are also those when life unfolds the way we want it to, when our minds are our untroubled and our circumstances friendly. It is easier to see beauty when we feel beauty, when it crosses our paths and graces our goings-on.

On the dreary days however, on the days of overwhelming worry and hopes gone awry, beauty appears to disappear. But many people have said this before me and many will say it after: appearances can be deceiving.

Today the “beauty” I have seen is the ever-present nature of beauty itself, the assurance that it is always with me and always around me, and that it does not depend on my circumstances. Today I feel hope and joy and happiness, but the beauty that I notice and treasure is not reliant on my feelings. Sometimes I will feel small and unsure, and yet beauty will wait around the corner of each trial to show me that it is okay for me to be less when there is so much that is more.

I just have to remember to look.