Welcome to Beauty Lessons!

If you landed here expecting to learn about the latest skincare and makeup tips, or the secret to pulling together a stunning outfit, this site probably isn’t for you. But if you’re searching for a deeper, more enduring kind of beauty—a beauty that can change the very core of your being—read on…

Help for the harried

Today’s society hurtles along at a faster pace than at any other point in history. With the advent of modern technology, we’re bombarded with a steady stream of information and expected to respond almost instantaneously to the demands of family, friends, and employers. Our hectic lives have left many of us in a state of constant anxiety and exhaustion.

PHOTO CREDIT: “STRESS,” by ANDREW IMANAKA / CC BY-ND

During my years in the corporate world, I witnessed troubling evidence of this daily: colleagues who were overworked, apathetic, and stressed—sometimes to the point of tears. I saw people rushing to catch a flight for a business trip, only to return home for barely long enough to do a load of laundry before heading out on the next trip. I saw them swearing in frustration when their laptop crashed for the third time in an hour. I saw them struggling to finish the report that was due the next day while simultaneously trying to tend their flu-stricken kids.

These people may have had successful careers, but their busy lifestyles often had unwelcome side effects: emotional and psychological problems ranging from chronic irritability to difficulty concentrating to debilitating depression, as well as physical problems such as insomnia, depressed immune function, and high blood pressure. They seemed to have lost all sense of purpose and were simply reacting to the burdens and cares imposed on them by their environment.

Does this sound like you, perhaps, or someone you love?

I don’t need to tell you that there’s no easy way out of this plight. Addressing the problems caused by our modern lifestyle is complicated and requires a multifacted approach. But what if I could offer you one small piece of the puzzle—a remedy that may help you live more intentionally and rediscover what’s essential in your life?

Beauty: An antidote for the ills of the modern world

For over twenty years, I was caught up in that stressful lifestyle, running frantically on the corporate hamster wheel. Trying to juggle my job and home responsibilities left me feeling increasingly exhausted.

Last year, though, I was laid off. While I wouldn’t exactly call it a good experience, it did give me time to reflect on how to live more meaningfully. I’ve done a lot of reading, studying, and thinking on the subject. There are plenty of modern self-help resources available, and I’ve found many of them helpful; but ultimately, I keep coming back to this ancient Biblical scripture:

Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8, New International Version)

Now, if you’re not a Christian, you may be thinking, “This isn’t for me.” But bear with me for a bit. This is wisdom that has stood the test of time, and people of all faiths could benefit from heeding this advice. So let’s try and unpack what this verse really means and how we can apply it to our lives.

On the surface, this is simply an admonition to focus on the lovely, the admirable, the praiseworthy—in other words, the beautiful—in our world and in our lives. And that’s true enough, as far as it goes. But how do we define beauty?

What is beauty?

When you think of beauty, what comes to mind? Do you picture the vastness of the ocean, the majesty of the Grand Canyon, or the vibrant colors and patterns of a Van Gogh painting? Or the amazing individuals and charities who work tirelessly to make a positive impact on our world? Maybe you envision memorable life moments: a wedding, a milestone anniversary, the birth of a child. And you’d be right—all of those things, those moments, are beautiful.

But we’re not surrounded on all sides by masterpieces of creation, and we don’t float continuously from one grand occasion to another. It’s the everyday, ordinary objects and the small, seemingly insignificant moments that make up the fabric of our daily lives. And if we can learn to see through the right lens, we can discern an inner beauty embedded deep within those objects, those moments, that we take for granted and tend to overlook.

Poets seem to understand how to see the beauty of the everyday better than most of us. The nineteenth-century poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning, in her epic poem Aurora Leigh, offers up some striking imagery that perfectly illustrates my point:

Earth’s crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God;
But only he who sees, takes off his shoes—
The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.

If we bide our time plucking blackberries and waiting for the next high point in our lives, then we blind ourselves to the holiness of the burning bushes: A smile shared between two strangers. The unadulterated joy in the wag of a dog’s tail. A beautifully crafted sentence. The deliciousness of a humble vegetable. An anonymous act of kindness.

PHOTO CREDIT: JOSE ANTONIO ALBA / CC0

I confess that, all too often, I’m one of the oblivious blackberry pluckers; but I’m learning to see the beauty of those burning bushes. How about you?

What are beauty lessons?

Now that we’ve expanded our definition of beauty, let’s revisit Philippians 4:8 and explore why we’re exhorted to focus on the admirable, the pure, the lovely. Could it be that those beautiful slices of the everyday can yield valuable lessons: seeds of insight, wisdom, or inspiration?

PHOTO CREDIT: “SEEDLING,” by KEVIN DONCASTER / CC BY

If we open our minds and hearts to what those lessons have to teach us, what might grow from those seeds? How might we be transformed? Those are beauty lessons worth studying.

Why we need beauty lessons

These lessons certainly aren’t a panacea for our hectic lifestyles. They don’t always change our circumstances; but they can help us reframe how we view those circumstances, and that can make the difference between misery and contentment.

In rare instances, beauty lessons can bring about dramatic transformations. You may discover a passion that leads you to start a business, or be inspired to follow that long-deferred dream of becoming a sculptor or painter or writer. Or perhaps you’ll finally find the impetus to volunteer for a cause that’s dear to your heart.

PHOTO CREDIT: “FLOWER PAINTER” by HOWARD IGNATIUS / CC BY-NC-ND

More often, though, the lessons are subtle, fleeting. You may get a much-needed reminder to slow down and be more mindful of your surroundings, to enjoy the now. Or you may stumble across a metaphor that provides a model for how to tackle a challenge in your life.

These tiny lessons may not seem like much. But here’s the crux of the matter: The cumulative effect of each seemingly insignificant lesson can be enormous. Each small lesson may change us only infinitesimally; but if we’re attentive students, those lessons can transform our fundamental identities. That is the timeless wisdom of Philippians 4:8.

How beauty lessons change us

This isn’t just wishful thinking; there’s scientific proof that focusing on life’s positives engenders a wide range of psychological, emotional, and even physical benefits. In one study, people who were instructed to keep gratitude journals—in other words, to pay attention to the beauty in their lives—experienced the following changes:

• better sleep
• more energy and fewer physical problems
• better progress towards personal goals
• more optimism
• more connection to others

PHOTO CREDIT: “MY GRATITUDE JOURNAL,” by CLAIRE / CC BY-NC-ND

That such a simple exercise could have such all-encompassing effects is pretty mind-boggling.

If you’re still not convinced, here’s further proof: your thoughts actually bring about physical changes in your brain. When you have a thought, an electrical charge travels in a path across the synapses in your brain. The more you use a particular pathway, the closer together the synapses in that pathway grow—you’re basically rewiring your brain.

What’s the implication? Each fearful, anxious, discouraged thought makes it easier to think more such thoughts—a downward spiral into ever more deeply ingrained negativity. That’s a heavy price to pay.

On the other hand, think of the possibilities of focusing your thoughts on beauty, on strengthening the pathways of gratitude and wonder in your brain: more peace, more joy, a more abundant life.

Which do you choose?

Learning from fellow seekers

As with any challenging task that requires a shift in mindset, beauty lessons are easier to learn with the help and support of others. Fortunately, the world is populated with many guides who are gifted at teaching these lessons: spiritual counselors, meditation gurus, and leaders of all kinds who provide an ethical and moral compass. But these experts can seem like larger-than-life, celebrity figures who have all the answers. Although they have invaluable messages to share, they can seem too remote, too hard to relate to as ordinary human beings. Sometimes it’s the experiences of people like us that resonate the most.

So here’s what I’m hoping to create through this blog: a community of like-minded seekers who are struggling to find the beauty in their own lives and attune themselves to the lessons contained therein. I’ll start by sharing snippets of my daily life and what I’m learning, as well as my failures and successes as a student of beauty lessons.

PHOTO CREDIT: “SHARING,” by LENA / CC BY

You may not identify with my particular life circumstances; but perhaps I’ll spark a train of thought that leads you to your own discoveries. And I hope you’ll share those discoveries so we can encourage each other in our journeys. It’s that hope that gives me the audacity to add my voice to the clamor of cyberspace.