Meditations by Ian White Maher: Praise | Gratitude | Joy | Transformation
Pretty is as pretty does
October 7, 2016
The experience of beauty can be sacred. It comes to us as a gift from some other place. Given to us, and we, more often than not, respond with a silent thank you.

Anaïs Nin is famously quoted as saying “We don't see the world as it is, we see it as we are.” Which leaves a particular indictment of beauty on the table. The grasping for beautiful things, be they people or objects, often makes us look and seem quite ugly. But for those of us who seek the spiritual experience, who seek the sacred, beauty can also be a great guide.

Today is not just another day in your life. Everyone you meet, everyone your eyes bless, everyone you experience as a presence is a gift to you. And you are to them. The beauty of these encounters is the feeling of the sacred. And the only real response is gratitude. Beauty is calling out to you, from all around you, it is part of you. If we do nothing but cultivate our ability to see the beauty of our very existence we will have lived amazing lives. And it begins with today. Go out and see the beauty. Go out and see what happens when we don’t see the beauty and then try to add a little in that space. It is healing to bring the sacred into all of our acts. And maybe at some point we will see things as they are because they will be as we are.