How many times do you take the time to appreciate beauty. One of my favorite places is the ocean. I love watching the ocean change, the waves splashing in, or a calm summer day revealing a turquoise sea. Appreciating beauty is a transcendent strength; we can feel a sense of awe, wonder and it is linked to a spiritual force, one we may not even understand. This strength can help us to feel great emotion. When we don’t appreciate the beauty in everyday life it is as if we go through life with shades on, not really being present in the moment to moment existence of life.
Appreciating nature is usually associated with physical beauty but it can associated with the sound and the amazing concept of what nature provides. Being in this state can make us feel powerful, we can be elevated to another space. The perception can foster us being unselfish, forgetting our problems and less ego centered. We also may see that the world we inhabit is beautiful and desirable. This can lead to us being more open and accepting. Appreciating beauty can be something like a “peak experience” one that psychologist Abraham Maslow described as “moments of the highest happiness and fulfillment”.
Appreciation of beauty leads us back to the framework of positive psychology. It nurtures positive emotions, helps us to find meaning in our world and helps us to live with more zest and vitality.
What can you do today to feel awe and appreciate beauty in something?
References: Peterson & Seligman (2004). Character Strengths & Virtues.
Photo by: Graham Holtshausen on Unsplash