Beautiful

The world around us is incredible. Planet Earth is terrific, from mountains, oceans, hillsides, grass, trees, plants, flowers, and every single animal. Even the “ugly” animals have a certain beauty, cuteness, and appeal to them.

For example, when I think of an ‘ugly dog’ I think of a pug, and they are still adorable. Those snorting little beasts walk around with their eyes bulging out of their heads, awkward as can be, teeth pointing in every which way, and totally lovable.

Life is a gift, so much so I often get confused if I’m alive or dead. When my mind is relaxed, my heart is at peace — and I feel love and bliss — there’s no palpable distinction between Heaven and Earth to me.

So, I suppose the only ‘difference’ is me. I suppose the way ‘I’ feel determines how beautiful my surroundings are, how enjoyable life is, and the opportunities I have to love and be loved. I suppose it’s up to ‘me’ what I get to experience in this lifetime, and with whom I get to share these amazing feelings.

Today, I encourage you to take a step back. Close your eyes and imagine you’re already in your version of paradise. Now, feel it with all five senses, from the taste of the air you’re breathing to the smell of the environment around you, or the feeling of sand that may be underneath your feet. Really go there, by first letting yourself and then choosing to enjoy.

When you have the idea of paradise firmly planted in your mind, create an intention before you open your eyes; make your intention to see whatever your surroundings are with the same level of beauty. Regardless of whether you’re in a city, at work in an office building watching people hustle around you, or in the middle of a winter storm and feeling a bit chilly, you are experiencing.

The experience you are having right now is a matter of perception. You have the ability to see the beautiful life you are experiencing, watch idiosyncrasies around you with child-like awe and wonder, or resent each moment that passes by. You get to choose.

And when you realize the choice is yours, the struggle ceases to exist. Your body, heart, and mind begin to co-exist in the same space, thought patterns, and feelings. When you align yourself, you’re able to look in the mirror and see the beauty within yourself, and you’re able to select the feelings you get to experience it may occur to you that you’ve had this choice all along.

Don’t look backwards, for it won’t serve you. Instead, enjoy this moment, right here, right now. You are empowered to love yourself, to love your surroundings, and to see beauty in everything around you.

You — and I — are so lucky. Wow.

Today’s thought exercise:
if seeing everything as beautiful is always a choice and always has been, what do you feel like doing and experiencing right now?.