Loveliness is always an option
Sunday, July 31, 2016
Loveliness is Always an Option. Otherwise titled as, More Lessons Learned by Liz.
There days when nothing feels lovely. You wake up too late and leave your lunch at home, get to work only to realize that earlier yet another person was attacked for their race or religion, and you forgot to put the oil cap back on the other day so your engine is smoking. You have days like these, I am sure (please say I am not the only person to ever forget the oil cap), but of late these dreary days seem to be a lot more powerful in my life than in the past. I have felt like everything is shipwrecked on an abandoned harbor, with the evil ghosts Depression and Confusion fogging up the shores so the survivors cannot possibly find their way to swim to safety. We see this fog everywhere - clogging our Facebook feeds and echoing off our radio channels with the pollution of inhumanity.
It's enough to drive anyone's anxiety through the roof and straight to the moon. Maybe even to Mars.
Now, this is not to say that we should ignore world problems, or that we should not acknowledge our own problems because other groups have a much, (arguably very much) worse time than we do on any given day. It is to say though, that sometimes things are just not good. And sometimes it is better to admit it and move on than to dwell on it. At times, even, perhaps pulling the plug is the best course of action to take.
I find this to be true for me in moments like this. When I have realized that my lunch is at home and my car is in distress and I forgot to turn on the slow cooker and you get another dose of brutality popping up in your news, it is time to make a decision that is this: Loveliness is always an option.
That's right. When the news is grotesque and the storm clouds loom overhead and lightening strikes the calm lake, remember that loveliness is always an option. No matter what happens, we can choose to be lovely, to do things that are lovely, and to dwell on that which is lovely.
So the next time you forget something important or hear of a crime against humanity simply say this:
I acknowledge you. You are a real issue and we must all strive to improve, but today I am going to focus on something lovely.
Don't let the horrors of the world leave you drowning near the fogged up shore, but shine bright like a lighthouse at sea, for as much as storms are a true part of life, so is the light that brings everyone home.
How do you focus on loveliness and bring it into your home during dark times?
Stay Beautiful,
Liz
