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if it isn't beautiful, it can at least be helpful.

Today, I remembered...

if it isn't beautiful, it can at least be helpful.

OK, I'll admit it -- I'm a beauty junkie. I am constantly on the lookout
for beauty, whether it be in words, a singers voice, a human face, a
flowering plant. To me, beauty is a reminder to slow down and notice
what's right in front of me in the present, an invitation to sink into
and dwell in the extraordinary for a bit.

However, life being life, we also encounter circumstances that are
not pleasing to the senses. A recent example for me was being hit
in the face with the smell of cigarette smoke as I left Unity Temple.

The contrast was jarring. I had just experienced seeing many glorious
faces, feeling overwhelming love and acceptance in the gorgeous temple
and hearing angelic voices. Almost beauty overload. Then, the nasty
smell of cigarettes.

A wave of truth then washed over me. The cigarette smell wasn't
attractive to me, but it was useful. It reminded me of how we humans
can get caught up in mindless, destructive behavior if we don't fully
inhabit the present moment.

Beautiful thing to remember, wouldn't you say?