If we live without beauty, we betray the life within us
I hope you like cherry blossoms!
Beauty awakens us - it stirs our spirit - our life within
Soon it’ll be cherry blossom season in my beloved Japan.
I adore how the Japanese deeply appreciate and revere beauty in everything from their art, their gardens, their temples, their tea ceremonies, how they make their coffee…..
This even extends to my umbrella from Kyoto which is also a thing of beauty. Needless to say it gets a lot of use in the UK!
"Among flowers, the cherry blossom; among men, the samurai."
Even though the flower itself is delicate, the cherry blossom is viewed in Japan as the most noble among flowers - representing beauty, honour, and impermanence.
Hence why they relate it to the samurai.
We used to have an old cherry tree like this at the start of our driveway where I grew up as a kid.
To be honest, with its gnarly bare crooked branches it looked pretty ugly for most of the year - but come blossom season, when it was in full bloom, it took my breath away every time I came home from school.
Its beauty just stopped you in your tracks.
Your busy mind halted as if you awoke from some type of stupor.
There was Life in all its majesty and you couldn’t but stop to admire it.
This beauty made you feel something stir deep within.
Its beauty, its presence, was like a tuning fork that reconnected you with something way beyond your routine day to day.
Somehow it reminded you in a feeling way of your own divinity or spirit within.
And that’s what beauty does right?
Beauty elevates us up from the mundane.
Beauty uplifts our spirit.
Beauty ignites and touches our heart.
Beauty pierces your very soul.
“Beauty is a form of genius - is higher indeed, than Genius, as it needs no explanation.” Oscar Wilde
Beauty creates possibility and elevates your game
Here’s a weird thing that’s happened me recently.
One of my passions is sport. As a kid I was very competitive. I only collected gold medals - like why would you want anything else!
And yet I was also always drawn to players who were elegant, artistic, had flair, did the unusual. In my world sport could be a thing of beauty - just look at Roger Federer.
About 6 months ago I noticed during a tennis match that my mind was completely ignoring the score and I kept hearing in my head
“Can I make the next shot beautiful?” or
“Can I bring some magic onto the court?” or
“Can I create beauty in the next point?”
No matter how hard I tried zero competitive spirit would arise. It was kind of hilarious and equally sort of scary as this was such a different experience for me.
It had come out of the blue.
Meanwhile, my tennis partner was focused on winning and “attacking” and yes I used to be the same but now…...
Now I didn’t care about whether we won the point or not - it was all about the feeling and could we create beauty.
Here’s the interesting thing I noticed..…..
The whole match was heaven (as long as someone else kept the score).
Every moment was an opportunity to just be in this divine dance with life - what wild shot would it have me attempt? What would it have me see shot wise that my mind couldn’t fathom?
It was so much more fun and light during the whole game than just feeling good at the end because you’d won - if you’d won.
Focusing on beauty and the possibility of creating beauty in each moment had me be effortlessly present; it was way more fulfilling and we all played at a higher level.
It got me to thinking about teams ie if only one person needs to hold that space to elevate the whole?
What if it only takes one person in a group to hold the space for wonder or magic or beauty or inspiration - that that then impacts the whole by default?
You don’t even have to speak it - it comes alive via your presence.
There’s some magical energy that comes with it.
It’s an interesting thing to ponder…..
Beauty as it relates to performance in the business world? 🤔
Beauty is a refuge that feeds the soul and heals the heart.
If you were to ask me how I found my way through the most difficult parts of my life, I would tell you this, “I pay attention to beauty.”
And by doing this, I mean I’ve taught myself how to look for the details that make up the delicate bones of the world around me - the things that tiptoe quietly on gentle feet, that don’t announce their presence in a loud voice.” Liezel Graham
I was struck by Liezel’s words that she’d found her way through the tough times by paying attention to beauty.
I know for me and many others when we’re in difficult parts of our lives we do seek solace in the beauty and comfort of nature for example.
But to what degree do I/we tend to pay attention to beauty here and now ie it’s all around us in many guises in every moment?
What might be different if next time when I am going through a difficult part of my life I choose to pay attention to beauty?
Not focusing on what’s wrong about my life or what’s difficult, but to pay attention to beauty and to see what happens as a result.
That’s one for a post-it note me thinks lest I forget!
What about you?
Let’s make one final visit to Japan…..
In Japan, the sakura is more than just a flower - it is a philosophy, a fleeting whisper of life’s impermanence.
"Cherry blossoms are beautiful precisely because they fall."
To the Japanese and especially Buddhists, it’s this sense of impermanence that makes beauty so precious because it doesn’t last.
It’s to be honoured, revered and loved while here.
Just like that cherry tree in our drive it was destined to bloom; its beautiful flowers were destined to captivate everyone and equally those beautiful flowers were destined to fall.
Beauty may be transient (very like my best tennis shots!) but instead of mourning this transience what if we were to cherish it instead?
What if that fleeting moment of beauty is all the more precious because it’s fleeting?
It will never exist in quite the same way again.
“Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful, for beauty is God’s handwriting.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
So what about you?
Where do you feel beauty?
How much beauty do you allow into your life? Could you welcome more?
Do you turn to beauty when you need nourishment or solace or inspiration?
What kind of beauty uplifts your soul?
Isn’t it true that in our busyness it’s so easy to overlook beauty in your everyday experience? Or with our faces stuck in our phones on email.
“If we live without beauty, we betray the life within us.”
John O’Donohue
There is beauty out in the world.
There is the beauty we can bring out into the world as creations.
There is the beauty of ourselves that we can bring to the world - our being - the life within us.
“Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart”
Kahil Gibran
My invitation to you….
Please bring more of your inner beauty to the world - we need it and want it.
Please let the light in your heart shine ever more brightly - we need it and want it.
I loved reading this Alison! As we spoke about it, beauty is something I rediscovered recently, or better: I acknowledge its importance & essentiality for a joyous life! Recently, mainly through painting!