The Hidden Beauty

As I get older, I am much more vulnerable to larger emotion when I see something beautiful.  Yesterday, I went to see the Cirque du Soleil’s show here in Baltimore, Totem.  I had the privilege to do this with Gail while she was here visiting Jeremy with me.  The reason for going to see this particular show is because two of my close friends from college are working for that show.  Holly and Alyson have been working for Cirque du Soleil for the last four years and because of this, they have been able to see so much beauty and share it with hundreds of thousands of people.

While we were sitting there waiting for the show to begin, I couldn’t help thinking about how all that amazement of what was about to happen could change the attitude of twenty five hundred people.  The show started and within minutes my eyes filled with tears.  Not tears of sadness, but tears in the reaction to the beauty on stage.  Totem is built around where we come from as humans: Evolution to present day and also what that structure means for us as we venture into the future. The entire time that the show was going, I couldn’t help thinking how truly amazing and beautiful humans really are.  Our growth and journey over the last two and a half million years is mesmerizing and it’s shocking to think about how we are literally throwing all that time away.  Part of our focus into the future needs to be spent identifying the everyday beauty that goes unnoticed. 

How do we find the beauty that is around us every day?  I think that it can start with what makes us smile.  Anything that appeals to our emotions really is a great start to being more vulnerable to those moments.  I believe another part of it is not being ashamed or embarrassed when you recognize it.   What is embarrassing about the greatness that surrounds us every day?  It is definitely a more healthy direction to go. To think of people sharing what they find is beautiful instead of all the other things that waste their time; even as a substitute for one of those activities makes me beyond excited.                                         

 

**The photos in this article were pictures from a walk that I took this afternoon.  I definitely was able to see some of the common everyday beauty that commonly goes unnoticed. 

This post is dedicated to Holly and Alyson, who I admire and look up to so much.  You two manage to find the beauty in our everyday life and are able to share it with everyone around you.