Actually had a little sprinkle of rain this morning while I pondered on the porch. Not heavy enough to keep me and Penelope from our morning walk. There have been storms all around us but our little slice of the world could still use some good rain showers. Enjoyed a soft breeze this morning while I sat in the swing and watched the cardinals frolic from feeder to feeder. The breeze was playing a beautiful whisper in the wind, softly pinging each individual wind chime pipe. Such a pleasant quiet symphony. Made me smile and again count my blessings for waking up to live another day on this wonderful planet Earth.

I was reading lots of quotes today searching for one that inspired me when I came across some of Confucius’ quotes. One stood out and set me to thinking. “Everything has beauty, but not everyone can see it.” Confucius was a Chinese philosopher. So many quotes we are familiar with were spoken by him.

I was walking around the bird feeders late afternoon and seeing the mess I had made by putting a few old soda crackers and cut up peaches on two of the platform bird feeders. The crackers were soggy from the rain showers. The peaches were attracting flies. I was reaching to pick up a platform feeder and throw the mushy mess off when a beautiful butterfly lit on top of a piece of peach. Instantly that mess became a enthralling photograph of a female Diana Fritillary butterfly. Even the name of the butterfly is magnificent. My ugly mess was no longer a mess but a beautiful moment with one of God’s graceful butterflies. The colors on her wings, soft black and vibrant turquoise, looked like velvet.

As Confucius said, “Everything has beauty.” Sometimes it hard to see the beauty when we’re instantly labeling things, only looking at what we see on the outside. Not taking the time to really see the inner beauty of God’s people and creations all around us. Plato said, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” Remember how handsome we all thought our children were when they were born. But realistically a new born baby is only beautiful in the eyes of the parents.

We need to train ourselves to appreciate the beauty in all the wonders of this majestic world. There are no rules to what makes something beautiful. We don’t all see beauty the same way. Beauty is subjective and what one person finds beautiful another may not. Physical beauty fades with time but a beautiful soul radiates a kind and giving nature for a lifetime. Beauty pleases the aesthetic senses but when you see everything as it really is, without judgement, you’ll find beauty in the world’s natural perfection. We can see our own true beauty in this world by accepting who we are and trying to live a meaningful life.

“The sign of a beautiful person is that they always see beauty in others.” – Omar Suleiman