All The Noteworthy Things

Question: 

How can we embrace life when there is so much bad news bombarding us each day? 

The Seer: 

1. Set aside one day of the week in which you contemplate all the noteworthy things you’ve seen in this life, and then identify the one that had the most profound impact on you and how that changed your perspective. The purpose of this is to acknowledge how rich your experience of life has been (we tend to keep the painful things and tragic sights in our memories more than the beautiful things). This leaves us with the impression that life is only tragic. It is also a way to know yourself through recognizing what pleases you. Self-knowledge precedes self-love. 

For instance: 

I have seen –

• hundreds of wild swans  swimming in the grey North Sea … an unexpected sight I discovered when I climbed up on a dyke(a wall of dirt to keep the water out) 

• wild ostriches running next to the train I was on in Africa 

• cream colored “white” lions kept in a pen in Las Vegas 

• a massive whale breaching in the ocean 

• the wonderment in the eyes of a little boy with his ice cream cone 

• an eagle fishing in the river where I was taking my morning bath  

• watching the precision dance of the White Austrian Lipizzaner horses performing in an arena  

• the wild abandoned dance of Black Beauty — the famous 

horse from the movie by that name — under blue spotlights 

• the raw power of a large Native American Pow Wow in Connecticut  

• the restrained anticipation of a pride of lions hunting impala in the moonlight  

• the flight of a condor over the ruins of Macchu Picchu

• a closet full of baby clothes waiting for my adopted baby girl to arrive 

• a bright yellow spiderweb being spun by a vividly colored yellow spider 

• a mischievous little grey donkey pretending to be innocent  

• a flight of wild pelicans at sunset over the ocean 

2. Identifying the most profound, life-altering experience: I realize as I look through my list, that it is but a small fragment of the multitude of impressive sights.  

That have shaped my perspective of life as beautiful in the most unexpected moments. Although these are highlights, I make it a point to find beauty in every day. Thus in my reality, life is beautiful. 

3. Find something to be grateful for each day. 

4. Make life easier, more inspiring, or a better, holy sanctuary for others or someone else, every day. 

5. What did I learn about myself from my list? I am impressed by beauty and elegance. But I find the works of nature the most elegant. In nature (which can be found in my own backyard) I find my solace. 

Related:

The Visual Poetic Perspective (18)