Due to heavy rain and showers lately I haven’t been able to sit in my usual ‘sit-spot’.
So one day, sitting undercover on the patio, I began my usual mindfulness practice.
Noticing what I can see, hear and feel.
Suddenly the sun came out and my view changed dramatically.
The greens were so much more intense.
The leaves were glistening, flashing and shining from the rain.
Then there was a shower of silver raindrops.
The trees were shaking themselves off and these beautiful droplets of water were falling to the ground.
It was mesmerising.
Then my husband came outside and I tried to show him, or explain to him what I could see.
He looked at me like I was slightly mad, and said ‘okay’.
I couldn’t understand why he couldn’t see it.
Looooook…!
I took a photo but realised that didn’t capture, or ‘see’ it either.
Then eventually it dawned on me.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
I casually wondered about the origin of that phrase.
It’s generally credited to an Irish novelist, Margaret Wolfe Hungerford, who, in her 1878 novel, Molly Bawn, wrote:
“It is an old axiom, and well said, that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”.
But the idea that everyone has a different perception of what is beautiful can be traced back to early philosophers, trying to understand if beauty is subjective or objective.
An age old question you could say.
Either way, the thing is if it’s beautiful to you, then it’s beautiful!
Marvel at it, appreciate it, and enjoy.
Ann 🙏