Contemplating the Stars

It's been a while since I've written here. Certain events and people in my life seek to suck the beauty out of it and I willingly get dragged along, bulldozed by all the things I need to accomplish.

Last night, I took a little bit of time to just chill out and get refocused and it was beautiful.

People who live in the country don't realize how awesome they have it. Out here, where I go to college, the stars are so beautiful. Away from cities riddled with light pollution, you can see thousands of them, burning and twinkling, forever away. They are so beautiful when they're spread out in front of you, diamonds on a piece of black velvet.

It puts things in perspective for me. When my problems feel so huge and insurmountable, all I need to do is look up on a clear night. Then I realize that I'm just a small piece of a beautiful puzzle and it will all be okay.

Book Diving

I went downtown with a friend today and introduced him to one of my favorite pastimes: book diving.

Around the (0,0) of my city, there's a whole slew of used bookstores. Some people are repulsed by the idea of buying anything used, but I love used books. Each one has a story and character. There's math books from 1914 and well loved copies of old favorites. Best of all, there's the smell of old books that permeates every corner of the shop and hits you as soon as you walk in the door. These books are being given a second chance to be useful and impart their knowledge and sometimes you find something you'd never expect. I'm a fan.

Happy Customers

It's been a while since I've posted because I've been working my tail off at my job as a waitress. Two fourteen hour shifts in two days leaves about enough time for eating and sleeping and that's about it.

Working as a waitress, I deal with a lot of people and a lot of complaints. It's about enough to make a girl hate the human race. However, sometimes you get that customer or pair of customers that just make you smile. Last night, when my whole body was hurting and all I wanted to do was go home and veg out to NCIS or Criminal Minds, I got customers who made my night. They were a beautiful bright spot in a very long and trying couple of shifts.

Pictures are Worth 1000 Words

I used StumbleUpon to find this site. The man in the pictures took one Polaroid picture every day for 18 years and they were put up on a website. It's pretty cool and it tells the story of a man's whole life, the important people, events, and eventually his death. It's kind of crazy, but really cool.

This is another cool link that I found is a tradition I want to start during my adult life, with my family.

Groucho Marx Glasses

I had more fun with this toy that cost a dollar than I have in a really long time. :)

Three Generations

Today's beautiful thing almost snuck by me. It happened at dinner. My grandfather has been visiting and I looked up and realized that three generations of my family's men were sitting at the table and finding things in common to talk about, even though their ages spanned more than 60 years. It was a pretty cool sight to behold.

Please Don't Promise Me Forever

Just read it.

Yay, School...

I was less than excited to be going to my 8 A.M. summer class but, as I turned to go into the academic building, this sight awaited me.


My class wasn't so bad after all.

A Quote

"But the things that we feel most deeply we ought to learn to be silent about, at least until we have talked them over thoroughly with God" ~Elisabeth Elliot

The same friend has been responsible for not one but TWO of my beautiful things this week. She has this as her Facebook status and it really made me stop and think. How many times do we actually go to God first with what is on our hearts and minds? It's a legitimate question to ask and was particularly striking to me today.

A Father-Son Relationship

When I took this picture, I felt like a ginormous creeper...it's not that great but I didn't have the guts to take MORE pictures of some anonymous little boy and his dad. I wouldn't make a good paparazzi.
That being said, there is something truly beautiful about watching how grownups interact with kids, especially parents with their kids. I wish I could have captured how awesomely cute these two were together, but I wasn't that sold out on being a creeper.

I was privileged to witness two separate instances of a dad taking care of his 4 (or so) year-old boy, walking with them, holding their hand, letting them run, but looking so proud and in love. It's a truly gorgeous thing.

A Letter from a Friend

Today's beautiful thing was unexpected but awesome. I got a letter from a college friend and it made my day. I go to a private college so, when the semester ends, we all scatter across the country. Not many of my friend live in my state, so it's nice to hear from them.

I also think letters in general are a beautiful thing. In a world of internet, e-mail, blogging (hey...I'm not complaining...), Facebook, and instant messaging, it's a lovely thing when people take a couple minutes to sit down and write a few lines to let someone know they were thinking of them. It might be a little old-fashioned, but it's also a very tangible form of communication which is a cool feeling we don't get too often anymore. I haven't been this excited to see mail since somewhere around my 10th birthday. :)

Flowers on Campus

So, I'm taking a class at the local community college, which is kind of a major bummer, but as I was walking into the building this morning, preparing to sit through nearly four hours of Calculus, both of these flowers caught my eye. I thought they were truly beautiful and, on top of it, I got to learn about some sweet functions my camera has that I was previously unaware of. Of course, I'm no botanist, so I know one picture is of a rose (duh...) but have no idea what the white one is.

A Cup of Tea in My Favorite Mug

My first beautiful thing is kind of simple but...I like it.

Everything about my cup of tea this morning was beautiful. It was a good temperature, an exotic flavor (Santa Fe Chile...I guess New Mexico is exotic...), and best of all, it was in my favorite mug. Maybe I'm weird, but my favorite mug has this worn-in, well-loved feeling that just makes me happy. It's a pretty sweet hand-friendly shape, too.

Where's the Beauty?

Maybe I'm just another bleeding heart or artistic wannabe, but I believe that we miss many of the beautiful things in life. I know that, for me, my life is so hectic and crazy that I rarely have time to slow down and recognize what's truly moving and beautiful.

So, I'm going to fix that.

This blog is mostly for me, to help me make sure to find the beauty in everyday life. I'm going to consciously seek one beautiful thing every day, whether it be a sight, a sound, something I read, a song, or a moment. I'm going to post what I find beautiful in life. No longer will I have to ask: "Where's the beauty?" because I'll have a kind of electronic file cabinet of beautiful things.

Cool.