Beloved Soul Tribe,
Novelist Toni Morrison had this to say about beauty:
"I think of beauty as an absolute necessity. I don't think it's a privilege or an indulgence, it's not even a quest.
I think it's almost like knowledge, which is to say, it's what we were born for.
I think finding, incorporating and then representing beauty is what humans do. With or without authorities telling us what it is, I think it would exist in any case.
The startle and the wonder of being in this place.
This overwhelming beauty—some of it is natural, some of it is man-made, some of it is casual, some of it is a mere glance—is an absolute necessity.
I don't think we can do without it any more than we can do without dreams or oxygen."
I checked my watch.
It was 4:10 a.m.
I set out on a journey.
I had been at the Cleveland Clinic for two weeks, sequestered in a roomy but sterile neurological ICU room with my mom, barraged constantly by pings and alarms.
Monitors that never seemed to stop beeping a sense of emergency.
This is the truth:
I have the best mom that anyone could ever ask for.
She has been my sincerest confidant and my biggest cheerleader.
She allowed me to follow my own path - crazy and circuitous as it has been - and then reveled in each milestone.
And while my childhood with my mom was idyllic, it was in my adult years that our relationship really grew.
For many years, we would meet for an early morning coffee at a local bakery - The Stone Oven.
I would pull into the parking lot and inevitably see her sitting in the front window, ponytail bobbing slightly as she wrote in the gratitude journal.
We would chat, catch up, laugh.
Those moments were golden.
Now, I was sneaking out of the dark room, past the blinking monitors.
My life had been overcome with the fear of losing her.
And so I began my journey.
At 4:10 p.m., the Cleveland Clinic is awash with people.
At 4:10 a.m., however, it is a different story.
I wandered the deserted corridors.
For weeks now, I have reveled in the hospital’s art collection.
Now, I wanted to visit every single piece, drinking in the beauty of every piece of art adorning these walls.
I wanted peace.
I wanted my fear to dissolve.
As my footsteps echoed on the cold terrazzo, accompanied only by the soft squeak of my shoes, I visited each one.
Truly, they were wonderful.
Each one imparted a story.
An emotion.
I came upon a door marked “chapel.”
I pushed it open.
I sat alone in one of the back rows.
The beauty overwhelmed me.
The beauty of this early morning experience.
The beauty of my mom’s love for me.
The beauty of the sting of hard and tragic moments that allow us to feel life so fully.
Instead of crowding out the fear, I let it in.
I felt it.
In beauty, I honored it.
This whole adventure got me thinking about darkness, fear, night, the unknown.
How we can all spot beauty in places that aren't, well, traditionally beautiful.
It's like finding a patch of neon in a puddle.
This week, your Scare Your Soul challenge is about finding beauty in uncommon places.
Here are a few ideas to kickstart your journey:
Slow Down: Seriously, just take a moment. We rush through life so fast that we miss the moments happening around us. Next time you're out, slow your pace and look around.
Look for Color: splashes of color can surprise you. A brightly painted door, a vibrant street art piece, or a sun-dappled tree.
Find Beauty in the Mundane: Ever notice how a cup of coffee can look like a piece of art in the right light? Or how raindrops on a window can seem like a moving painting? Or how a window frames a group of friends?
Listen: Beauty isn't just about what you see; it's what you hear too. The quiet in the early morning, or the buzz of a foreign place.
Beauty didn't just dissolve my fear; it helped me appreciate the now.
And sitting alone in that chapel, letting all the beauty and the weight of the moment wash over me, I got it.
Beauty's not just in museums or sunsets. It's in the love shared between a mom and her kid, even in a hospital room. It's in facing the tough stuff and finding moments of awe and grace in the midst of it all.
So, why not give it a shot?
Start your own hunt for beauty in the unlikely places.
You might be surprised by what you find.