Earlier this week I received a note from a fellow blogger. They said that they had been having a tough day, and something that I wrote provided them with a little solace.

I am grateful for all those who speak their truths every day, no matter how hard it may be at the time. I am grateful for the times that these words can touch another person- and bring them whatever they need at that particular moment in time. I am grateful that we all have the ability to be that person. Our words matter. Choose them carefully and use them wisely.

My word for the week is BEAUTY. Here’s how it’s used in the books that I’m reading:

  1. A popular analogy held that the tea-picking girl had all the purity and nobility of the tea she picked, and contained in such beauty was hardship. Sarah Rose
  2. There is beauty in Vallecas, but you have to have the eyes to see it. Ruth Sepetys
  3. Our conversation was the first time I accepted the multiplicity of parenthood: the boredom and the beauty of it, the relentless sacrifices and the transforming gifts. Natasha Lunn
  4. There’s always a sunrise and always a sunset and it’s up to you to be there for it. Put yourself in the way of beauty. Cheryl Strayed (quoting her mother)
  5. But the beauty of the moment was broken by a passing contraction, as Lea clutched Maura’s hand. Nikki Erlick
  6. Am I just a grumpy middle aged lady who left effortless beauty behind in her twenties and now mostly wants to be left alone? Kristin van Ogtrop
  7. Perhaps appreciating the beauty of the outside world is eventually appreciating the beauty inside. Rob Walker
  8. The fresh beauty of the following morning did something to efface from our minds the grim and gray impression which had been left upon both of us by our first experience of Baskerville Hall. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
  9. She’s a beauty, it is true; but not an angel. Emily Bronte
  10. Design is the melding of beauty and function to solve a problem. Jane Mount
  11. It takes time to figure out our own conception of beauty– both outer and inner, and often we return to the images of beauty that we formed in our youth, transformed through our lifetime of experience. Caroline Kennedy
  12. If the beat is there purely to show off the beauty of your writing, it had better be beautiful, because that’s all you’ve got to hold the reader. Graeme Simsion
  13. I am full of anger, pain, peace, love, of horrible shards and exquisite beauty, and the lifelong challenge will be to balance all of those things, while keeping them in the circle. Stephanie Foo
  14. Just as falsehoods threatened truth, disorder threatened beauty. Chloe Cooper Jones
  15. Contemplate the nature of the beauty in front of you. Pedram Shojai

Here’s how I’m thinking of the word BEAUTY:

  1. Is beauty in the eye of the beholder?
  2. Is there beauty in everything if we choose to see it?
  3. How do we choose to look for beauty?
  4. Quote 5 is from a book about living your life- how is beauty only used once in a book about living your best life?
  5. Do we equate beauty with good and/or positive attributes?
Roses Only
Marianne Moore

You do not seem to realise that beauty is a liability rather than
   an asset—that in view of the fact that spirit creates form we are justified in supposing
     that you must have brains. For you, a symbol of the unit, stiff and sharp,
   conscious of surpassing by dint of native superiority and liking for everything
self-dependent, anything an

ambitious civilisation might produce: for you, unaided to attempt through sheer
   reserve, to confute presumptions resulting from observation, is idle. You cannot make us
     think you a delightful happen-so. But rose, if you are brilliant, it
   is not because your petals are the without-which-nothing of pre-eminence. You would look, minus
thorns—like a what-is-this, a mere

peculiarity. They are not proof against a worm, the elements, or mildew
   but what about the predatory hand? What is brilliance without co-ordination? Guarding the
     infinitesimal pieces of your mind, compelling audience to
   the remark that it is better to be forgotten than to be remembered too violently,
your thorns are the best part of you.

Public Domain-poets.org

67 thoughts on “Gratitude and Mindfulness: 9/3/22”

      2. We needed to get a new router/modem recently…our old one was ten years old and rattled…when I got the new one, my husbands computer was too old to be compatible with the new router. It’s a dangerous game that the techies are playing…

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    3. What i do is I write the poem in verse (which allows for creating multiple lines without adding a new paragraph) and then change the format to paragraph before publishing so that readers can read without side-scrolling.

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  4. Love the beauty you shared with us today and there are so many times we have no idea what an impact we might have on other people and nice to have it confirmed once in awhile. One reason I love being a part of the blogging community

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  5. It seems like the quotes you listed are definitely in the beauty is positive camp. I bet if you changed the word to ugly we would instantly attribute negative connotations. Both of those words carry a lot of power in our lives and social beliefs.

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  8. LA, you always make me think. (Thanks for that)! I really don’t know how to describe Beauty anymore. My views have evolved over the years. Because beauty is constantly changing as we change, and as our perceptions of ourselves and the world changes. Beauty is not constant.
    Growing up I remember listening to my grandmother recite her story about what an ugly baby I was. Now keep in mind that the dictionary describes beauty as “ a combination of qualities, such as shape, color, or form, that pleases the aesthetic senses, especially the sight”.
    So as a little girl I often heard people tell me I was pretty, or that I had beautiful hair etc. My grandma used to delight in telling anyone who would listen, that I was born a “meeskite”. (A face only a mother could love). And she dramatically described how I suddenly transformed at about two or three from a homely cherub into a beautiful little girl. Of course she added it was because I started to look like her side of the family. Lol.

    In any case, the positive reinforcement I received from early on was because people found me pleasing to look at. My grandfather would knock on our door in the mornings on his way to the store to pick up the Jewish newspaper. He’d take me by the hand to walk with him and he’d sing in a thick Yiddish accent a song he made up, “Lesila, my Lesila whose the prettiest girl in town? “ and he’d pick me up and sing, “You are, you are! Lesila is the prettiest girl in town!” And then he’d show me off to all his friends at the store before walking back to my house. It was a sweet routine we shared. But, my looks were always praised. And I recall that I enjoyed people telling me I was pretty.

    And then … suddenly my family moved to Florida. At 12, I grew to my full height, started to develop, and was then called “zaftig”. ( a round, slightly plump figure). So as was the custom, in the late 1950’s and early 60’s adults spoke in front of children and assumed we were deaf, or thought it was ok to criticize children in front of them. So I suddenly went from being the family beauty to a child who was too curvy. (To me that meant fat). And those same people who teased my parents that I was zaftig said my sister looked too skinny. So she and I both grew up with hang ups about our weight. I look at photos of myself as a child now and I wasn’t fat. I’m so baffled because I remember being perceived as too chubby. I wasn’t. Yes,my sister on the other hand was very thin. So maybe I looked chubby next to her, but the reality was I developed early. (The ultimate beauty back in the 1950’s was Marilyn Monroe and she was curvy). Anyhow, as a teen I shopped at a store called 5,7, 9 and I was a 5, so even though I remember being a 5 , I still perceived myself as fat. To this day I cringe at my 7th grade school picture. Braces, a home perm that went terribly wrong, and a headband right above my bangs. And even though my dress, shoes and purse all matched, I looked pretty hideous in the photo. (The glare coming from my braces was blinding)!

    So beautiful? No way. I longed to see the pretty girl I used to look like in the mirror. Luckily in high school I found her again by imitating models in the fashion magazines. And I was chosen in tenth grade to represent my high school as a teen model for Jordan Marsh. (I modeled through high school and college). I had the London look down pat. I looked like all the other girls who emulated the London look! I learned in high school that poetry, music, political unrest was more important than eyeliner. But, what I learned by 16, was that true beauty was better expressed in words of poets rather than my image in a mirror.
    Obviously, beauty is subjective and fluctuates with every decade. But words, scenery, art etc… that form of beauty lasts through the centuries. It’s a state of mind. People change over time. It’s their spirit that can remain beautiful.

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    1. There’s a line in a tree grows in Brooklyn about beauty, and I’m going to have to find it, because if I remember it correctly it meshes with what you said…

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  9. I was talking to a stylish friend recently. She always looks great. She told me she studied how women dress in high school as people would tease her about her looks. She felt that she wasn’t beautiful so she would be stylish. I was astonished as she always looks terrific. She is a trend setter. Beautiful is not easy, some women verbally attack, men can treat you like meat. The people I attract in full makeup aren’t necessarily people I want to know.

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    1. RV I did what your friend did. It’s about embracing your own sense of style. Beauty is subjective, but having a good sense of style is really what people notice. Now I’m in my 70’s and I don’t really worry about that anymore. But I enjoy stylish clothing. A simple black top and a pair of well fitting jeans ( or slacks), can look chic and ageless. At my 50th high school reunion my two best friends and I all went together. Each of us was told by various guys ( now old men) how they had crushes on us back in school but were too afraid to ask us out for fear of being rejected. We were shocked. Plus, we were clueless. I think there is a beauty to youth itself. One fellow from high school told me he would stare at me in class but thought I was out of his league. Having raised two sons I think boys are often intimidated by vivacious girls. And young girls, at least during my high school days, were totally clueless how lovely they were. I think It takes maturity to appreciate the beauty within.

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      2. How fun to have long distance admirers! You are around the same age as my friend and she looks and acts so much younger, one would never suspect her true age, I bet you are the same! I actually started following you as you taught Mensa students. I am fascinated with my husband’s family, lol!

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    2. If someone doesn’t appreciate me when I’m in sweats with no make up and hair pulled into a pony, they aren’t my friend. But kudos to anyone doing something that makes them feel good

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      1. LA that is so true! Love me for me! Without makeup, in joggers or in pajamas. My first husband told me when I was pregnant with our son that I was perfect when we got married but when I was pregnant (a few years later), that at 8 months pregnant I looked like a big white whale. I was furious and so hurt. And yes, it’s true we were very young, but that’s when I realized how shallow he was. We split when our son was ten months old. It’s funny how when he’d come down to visit his son he’d comment on how good I looked. But by then I knew that if he couldn’t deal with me when I was pregnant, he would never be able to handle things if I became Ill, or began to age. When my second husband died of pancreatic cancer the disease had ravaged him. But I just saw him, not the disease. Caring about someone is so much more than their looks. It’s about their inner beauty.

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  12. I so agree, knowing your words touched someone is a wonderful feeling brings beauty to the heart. 🙂
    Yes, I think we do equate beauty with good and positive attributes. For beauty in appearance may make someone look attractive, but that beauty soon fades if they are snobbish or lack positive attributes. The beauty that stays is the beauty in the heart. ❤

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    2. I think that’s a wonderful thing to do, and I agree with Confucius that “Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.” Just like there’s something that one can learn from everyone, if we’re just willing to learn it.

      And I think it’s absolutely fantastic that your words were able to help someone who needed help, how terrific is it… for both sides?

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  14. 2. YES!! Absolutely.

    I don’t think there’s a universal definition of “beauty,” so it’s very subjective. I might think that blizzard that dumped 10″ of snow is beautiful, but the person having to drive in it the next day might be cursing it.

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  17. Our words matter and yes I agree. we have to choose them wisely. I feel that people are apart of the blog world for funny stories, relatability and to learn some something new.
    To me we carry beauty in our soul, the outside is a shell and that’s it.

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  18. Great post. I enjoy reading your gratitude posts especially, but I have to ask. When you mention a word and how it showed up in your reading, how do you do that? I mean do you search books that have that word and read them? Or do you just remember from books you read previously? How many books do you read in a week? Or do you read many books side to side?

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    1. I have an ereader so I search the word, and if it’s use multiple times I look at them and see what’s my favorite. I usually have at least five books at a time. Book club books, I’m reading three books on creativity that I only read a few pages a day, a mindfulness book that’s only a few pages a day, and usually a memoir or non fiction book. I’m actively reading six right now. Some of the books are in my queue to read soon…like, I know De. Jeckyl is my next book club book that I’m going to start on Monday, but it’s already in my ereader

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      1. Oh ok. Cool. I’m currently reading 10 books at the same time but I don’t read from all 10 in the same day. I pick and choose based on my mood. And I don’t count trash romance as my reads. It’s my escapism.

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  19. To answer your questions, I will try to focus because I’m sleepy and in pain, beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder. There is beauty in everything if we choose to see it. We usually look for superficial beauty but I think a person’s beauty is reflected from the inside out. We do equate beauty to something positive because it is positive.

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