BY MIKI MARKOVICH
Lesbian.com
“Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.” — Confucius
Who doesn’t get caught up in the deadlines? The bill paying, the pet vomit awaiting cleaning, the daily rotation and rat race of life? It’s part of the human experience and it’s OK. However, what’s not OK is living on autopilot, creating a day-to-day existence without beauty, miracles and streaming moments of vividness.
We all know it’s important to pause and reflect. Many of us plan to get to it sometime today or maybe tomorrow. Yet, taking even a couple of minutes to disengage from the noise and engage with the beauty surrounding you can recharge your soul, renew your faith in the joy of life, create flow and change your perspective.
Your life is about more than obligations and grocery lists. It’s comprised of your moments beautifully strung together. It’s right now.
So, how much time, work and commitment does it really take? OK, let’s try something.
Stop whatever you’re doing right now and look around. What do you see? Let’s say, for instance, you work in a factory. Do you see dust, machines, packing boxes and sweaty co-workers? Now, take a real look. Is there beauty in the intricacies of the gears or in the color of those wires? Maybe you take a “you break” and take a quick walk. Check out the way the sun illuminates the leaves, the iridescence of the beetle shell.
There’s so much beauty around us if we’re open ourselves to it: The flow and curve a road, the lines of a classic car, the complex form of area architecture, the vivid colors of produce at the farmers’ market (hey, look, you can grocery shop here, too — check that off the to-do list), the patterns found in the your lover’s eyes or maybe the plumpness of your child’s toes.
Here’s this week’s challenge. If you don’t already have the Instagram app, I encourage you to download it. You can do it now, if you like. I’ll wait.
Each day for one full week, take a moment to be fully present. You can do this in as little as two minutes. Look around you and discover the abundant beauty at your fingertips. Let it move you and then snap a photo. Now, share your beauty. Let your creativity flow through the Instagram filters and share with the world, or perhaps merely with trusted friends via text. Of course, if want to make my day brighter, tag me on Instagram, so I can share in your beautiful moments as well. You can find me here.
Miki Markovich is a seeker of beauty and truth, traveler of interesting roads, saver of furry souls, typer of words, iPhone lover and mac head. You can find her on Twitter at @mikimarkovich and @fiveminutezen. If you’re looking to go from pissed to blissed in five minutes flat, find balance or improve the quality of your life through self care, check out her website at fiveminutezen.com.
