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Writer's pictureKristine Anne Harpenau

Beauty In The World


THERE IS BEAUTY IN EVERYTHING... - Helen Keller


Sometimes the greatest gifts come in the most unexpected packages. From pain and suffering, we can find beauty. There are days when the good is more visible than others, but that good is always there! It's not always brought to us in bright lights, it is often found at the end of dark tunnels.


For seven years I suffered from depression. It was a dark period of time in my life and I didn't think the pain would ever pass. It was when I realized that joy and beauty live in all the corners, not only in sunlight, that I was able to make changes.


Change is one of my least favorite things, as I am a person who finds comfort in consistency. I like waking up and generally knowing what to expect every day. Yet, there was always a yearning in my soul that I could have done something else with my life. That there could have been more for me than being a nun doing what was expected of me day in, and day out.


If I had remained comfortable, I wouldn't have taken the risk to start a new life. Without a bump in the road, we don't explore other paths and discover parts of ourselves we never knew we had. If the car doesn't break down, how would we meet the stranger who comes along to bless us? If I hadn't become depressed, I wouldn't have started looking for a more fulfilling life. Life is beautiful in spite of everything! There are many thorns, but the roses are there too!


In order to make awareness of beauty a permanent fixture in your life, you need to practice being mindful and aware. I don’t claim that practicing these principles is easy, but the benefits are worthwhile when we bring consciousness into our daily existence.


Practice Listening

One of the biggest blocks to recognizing all of life’s extraordinary moments is that we often don’t stop to listen. We’re too busy talking to ourselves. Imagine that every time you interacted with someone, you were the only one talking. There would be no communication, because you never gave the other person a chance to speak. It works the same way when you’re communicating with life. Instead of thinking all the time and getting lost in your own thoughts, slow down and just listen. Put your focus on listening. When you find that you are drifting away in your own thoughts, gently bring your focus back to listening.


Practice Non-Judgment

Have you ever noticed that when you judge other people, it immediately puts you in a negative mood? Usually, the judgments we make are because other people aren’t conforming to our version of the way we would live. Everyone’s values are different, and that’s what makes life interesting. Compassion is a better vehicle for change than judgment. The next time you’re about to make a judgment, try to practice compassion instead. Let your feeling of needing to judge be a reminder for you to practice compassion. That way, your negativity will be transformed into peace. Beauty is experienced through a state of peace, never through a state of condemnation. And yes, non-judgment also means to stop complaining.


Open Your Heart

Opening your heart is a matter of accepting yourself and life as it is. It's a matter of forgiving yourself and others. If you want to take action to change something, that’s fine. But don't resist what is already a reality. Surrender to this moment, accept things and people as they are, and your heart will begin to open.


What all of these things have in common is presence. The more you’re living in the present moment, the more joy you allow to come into your life. If you’re always living in the future, always seeking something, you’re rejecting what Is – you’re never actually here to experience the miracle of life, right now.



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