Don’t know about you, but I’ve been focusing on trying to be more thankful for what freedoms and joys we actually have … especially for beauty when I see it or hear it or feel it these days. Which has prompted me to wonder, thanks to a famous poem, about beauty’s relationship to truth. What is truth? What is beauty? According to poet, John Keats, they are more than kissing cousins.
“They” say that keeping a gratitude list helps cultivate an attitude that brings more satisfaction in life. I’ve been doing that lately and think this list-making is having an effect. For instance, I felt that the music played during a yoga class was strikingly beautiful, so I thanked the instructor.
Another instance of beauty sighting: the purple orchid hanging outside in our yard seems more vibrant than usual. I stopped my rush to the car and examined it for a few minutes. Perhaps being more grateful has something to do with being more mindful, taking a few extra seconds to acknowledge someone or something and making a connection.
Paying attention to NOW brings its rewards. How very Buddhist.
What has gratitude done for you lately?
Gratitude cultivation, for some mysterious reason, has also made me think of poetry more often. John Keats’ phrase “Beauty is truth” floats in and out of my awareness like background music almost every day. For a good many years of my life I thought truth was found only in the Bible, but you know what? It can be found everywhere. Just look. Listen.
I have been fortunate to have traveled the world and seen many a Grecian urn. I’ve observed close-up what Keats was writing about. Love it!
The Poetry Foundation’s website tells us:
“John Keats, who died at the age of twenty-five, had perhaps the most remarkable career of any English poet. He published only fifty-four poems, in three slim volumes and a few magazines.”
Here’s the last part of his remarkable, Ode on a Grecian Urn:
Joni
Although I don’t keep a gratitude journal, knowing I should be since I have so much to be grateful for, I too look at beauty, truth and love so differently at this stage in my life. I’ve tried to reflect on whether or not it’s because of my age now or the changes in my life over the last few years. But that is not what matters, what matters is that every day as I drive east my less than 10 minutes from home to work I see the clouds and sun in a completely new way. Every day they are unique and every day they are beautiful.
Thank you, Charlene, for these sweet words. You are an inspiration.
Charlene L. Edge
Hi Joni,
So lovely of you to share your thoughts on this. Love that image of driving home and observing the clouds and sun … they are unique every day. Just amazing. When we were in Holland last spring, I was struck by the different cloud formations everywhere, probably because we were outside so much. And maybe because I was seeing so many great paintings with fabulous depictions of clouds. Clouds became a theme of the trip!