I spent some time planting pots this weekend, and my partner and I both marveled at how moved we were by the beauty and how touched by the never-ending possibility for beauty. This got me thinking about how beauty heals us, or I will speak for myself and you may take what you like…

1. Beauty makes me pause. I'm a doer and typically rushing from one task to the next, which I've learned is not a recipe for joy and fulfillment. When I'm stopped in my tracks by beauty, natural or otherwise, I get the gift of the proverbial pause. A moment to be still and listen, breathe or wonder.

2. Beauty gives me hope. There's something about beauty that let's me know it is going to be alright.

3. Beauty inspires more beauty. I call it the beauty multiplier. It can be as simple as one smile coaxing another smile, or as daring as the vulnerable sharing of your truth encouraging another to do the same.

4. Beauty activates the brain. The medial orbital frontal cortex, to be exact. Part of the reward and pleasure center of the brain. A-ha! Isn't science awesome?

5. Beauty stirs my emotions. I used to be afraid of those emotions, some of them anyway, so I held them in. The result was not pretty. Now I know all the emotions are part of being a whole human ~ messy, complex, miraculous and mysterious.

Flowers in a pot may not be your idea of beauty, that's cool. Maybe it's powerful street art like @nattyrebelart or @kissmyblackarts or @endeavors_oakland. Or maybe it's a multitude of upturned faces and skin tones at a protest (yes, even with masks on).

Whatever your preference, expression is a window to the soul. Bring beauty inside, soak it up outside and spread it around wherever you go. We all need it.

xo

Janine

"Beauty was not something simply to behold; it was something one could do."
~ Toni Morrison

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