“The fountain of beauty is the heart, and every generous thought illustrates the walls of your chamber”
—Frances Quarles
Have you ever been stunned by the spectacular beauty of someone, found yourself admiring them, only to realize their beauty faded as their spirit leaked through their skin?
Have you ever walked past a nameless face, their outward appearance causing nothing to flicker an impression, when suddenly a light from within them lit up their entire being with an internal glow that blinded you with their brilliance?
Have you ever been taken aback by how quickly faceless strangers bond into tightly woven friendships and relationships of love within the safety of Internet communication? Have you experienced it yourself perhaps? Seen how the lack of physical barriers provided a look into seeing something deeper?
It isn’t superficial or shallow to be immediately attracted to beauty. It is normal to seek what is beautiful and pleasing to the eye. But the eye’s attention to beauty can only see it at the surface level. It is the movement within your spirit, that you feel at the heart level when you connect with someone, or something that they have written, spoken, or created that speaks to true beauty within all of us. Superficial beauty is subjective. However, spiritual beauty is pure and generous and sharing and open and kind.
It is a light and an energy and something you connect with in your heart center. You know it when you experience it, even if it is different for each of us.
Examples of Spiritual Beauty
Beauty glows on the road-lined face of a woman aged and weathered by eighty decades, but who’s heart has reached out and gathered the tired and the poor and the weary-worn and given them back spirits filled with love.
Beauty beams up at you in the tiny trusting lashes of of a freshly bathed infant, gazing upon you as if delight were his gift to hand out to the world.
Beauty radiates peace in times of purposeful acceptance. Serenity and power. Quiet calm. Read in the faces of only a few, those who have learned the secrets of the difficult battles. The gift of daily gratitude.The balance of knowing when it’s enough. They are the ones you stand closer to, sometimes without even understanding why. Hoping their peace will brush on to you. You bask in their beauty…and warmth.
Beauty shines out of the honest, the gullible, the innocent, the curious, the sunny bright hopeful ones who see the light wherever they go. The big smiles, the bright lights, the energetic, the ones who light up rooms with their glow.
Beauty pours out of the caretakers, the mother, in her many forms, rounded curves of a child-filled belly, swaying hips that gently rock infants, crouched knees that forever bend to speak at an eye-level near the floor. Later still, looking up to children grown taller than her, she will always huddle them back, hold them close, hold them like babes in the beauty of her heart. She cares, she loves, she gives, she nurtures.
Beauty flows from the father, the look of the protector, his honor in knowing that the ones he cherishes shine brighter for his effort. He holds it in the weight of his shoulders, the crook of his neck, in the way he holds his lips, just a little tighter than he ever did before. He cares. He loves. He gives. He leads by example.
Beauty flows out of the small child, who wishes on stars and believing in miracles, would give you everything, because they have not yet learned to be jaded, or unkind, or to hold back love in fear of running out of it, as if such a silly thing could ever happen at all.
Beauty glitters in miracles, in gardens, in stones and minerals that hold the memories of the earth, in wishes and dreams, and life and love and every day moments and in the spirits of all the people that are right there next to you all the time.
Beauty. An overused word. not nearly used enough. Not paid attention to enough. Are you seeing the true beauty in your every day life?
Are you looking for it? Does it catch you by surprise as you are hurrying on by? Are you looking in the wrong places? Or the right ones? Where are your favorite beautiful places? Favorite beautiful people? What makes you feel beautiful? Please share.
