We need beauty in our life more than ever. We constantly face dramatic images and scenarios, our stress system is overcharged. One thing that helps to cope at difficult times, is to witness beauty.
Beauty is deeply nourishing and it can reveal itself through many forms and shapes, stimulating our senses. Personally, I find myself sensitive to many different cues. Visual stimuli are vital; this translates, for example, in taking particular care of the space in my home, not only choosing objects that I find beautiful, but especially creating a sense of harmony and balance; I am also very sensitive to smells, so I have many perfumes and essential oils to match my mood. And sounds…oh my, what an impact they can have on us: for me silence is a beautiful sound, as well as all the sounds of nature.
What about you? What is it that represents beauty for you?
This may sound like a simple question but I don’t think it is, really. We tend to consider “beautiful” what is generally considered beautiful or trendy. What is beautiful for you? How do you feel when you face beauty, is that any different from other moments? We are surrounded by many beautiful stimuli that can bring us joy. Have you ever reflected on yours?
When I witness beauty, I find myself being more present, I smile and I can easily tap into gratitude. Beauty helps me switch my mood and it calms me down, it is actually therapeutic. So I look for beauty everywhere, I crave for it and I try to create it.
I’ve given you some example of what I find beautiful but there’s an infinite number of things that can be beautiful: take some time to reflect on what that is for you and begin your healing journey through beauty.
These are Hades and Persephone in the underworld (Image: Ancient Art & Architecture Collection Ltd./Alamy).
I find beauty also in literature and storytelling. The myth of Persephone has always been one of my favourites because it brings a sense of magic to the cycle of the seasons: now that we’ve entered spring, Persephone has come back from the underworld to the earth, together with the blossoming of nature. This, in fact, coincides with Demeter, Persephone’s mother and goddess of the harvest, stopping mourning the loss of her daughter to the underworld. During the time that Persephone spends away from her mother, Demeter causes the earth to wither and die. This time of year became autumn and winter.
I would like to share this pearl of beauty with you, let me know if you find this as fascinating as I do.
You can read the story of Persephone here https://www.theoi.com/
