The Beauty In Everyday Life

We have been living in a time where the pursuit of material things has been our major focus. We were taught to believe that acquiring "things" would make us happy. We were told by marketers and advertisers on a daily basis how their "things" would fill our lives with joy. Only each "thing" that we acquired lost its fascination after a while and we were on to the next "thing" we thought, when purchased, would relieve us of that empty feeling inside. It was a relentless cycle. The bottom line is we never really achieved lasting happiness with any of the things we purchased. Sooner or later we'd have a bad day or be in a bad mood and that "thing" we bought couldn't help us with that - it was just a "thing".

What were we really looking for? I believe we allowed ourselves to be distracted from what could really bring us lasting happiness and wholeness. In these changing times, we have a chance to slow down and really ponder the answer to this question. It's not a quick fix. We can't just buy our way into oblivion anymore.

I think we had things in the wrong order - happiness comes from within - that is were the beauty starts. This happiness comes from honoring our own inner beauty, our inner voice, our authentic self. True happiness is more beautiful that any object you could purchase - and when you radiate it out, others can reap the benefits at no charge. A family that is truly happy and emanates this kind of beauty doesn't necessarily have a lot of material things. The beauty comes from their inner connectedness, their love and compassion for each other, their bond when things are tough and their willingness to remain loyal to each other. This kind of beauty found in everyday life is healing and necessary for the changing times ahead. It is a solid foundation from which to build on.

Yes, I love beautiful things just as much as anyone. But I have learned that my children's love and support are more beautiful to me than anything I could ever buy. I started out helping people create and enhance their outer beauty, but what I realized is that no matter what you wear or what you buy, it cannot come close to the radiance that emanates from someone who has genuine self-love.