Monday, October 15, 2012

Days of Beauty: Cultivating Beauty

 

Have you ever noticed that beauty can be catching? It can be very quickly caught by those littles in our care. When I show excitement and exuberance over beauty, pretty soon I have a little boy pointing to a bird and saying, "{gasp!} It's so beautiful, Mama!" or on a walk home from the neighborhood lake have a young lady exclaim over what a pretty day it is, what a fun time we've had, and how much she loves me! {more on this tomorrow!}

We can cultivate hearts of beauty in our children by leading them in that and showing we are interested and excited by beauty and I believe by consistently exposing them to beauty. I think children want to know what interests us and then they want to delight in that with us. That is one of the things children are good at: observing and following. I sometimes even think that they watch us to see what we love, and they occasionally try to promote that because they love us and see us doing this for them.




You know, there is so much in our world that is beautiful. That is truly worth celebrating and magnifying. Yes, there is a lot of hard there too. I want to be realistic with my children - but not beyond what they can handle. I want them to know how to handle what they will face one day - in doses that are age appropriate right now.

But, here is something I wonder - won't cultivating beauty into their little lives and hearts right now, reap great blessings later on when they are faced with the realities and hardness of life?

I would like to think it will. I would like to think it would be the stuff those heady, magnified childhood dreams are made of that we remember in adulthood as larger-than-life. I honestly think this is one reason beauty is so important to me - because I was gifted with a home life that celebrated simple, home-centered pleasures. {Thank you, Mom and Dad!}




And, I am encouraged even now to hear these little delights frequently in our household over a beautiful sunset, mama bird {and the sweet wonderings of if and where she may build a nest!}, a pretty dessert, family nights together.

 How are you cultivating beauty in little lives in your home? Would you point out one thing you see as beauty to your children today?!

Photos: Continuing beauty from our Botanical Gardens visit!

3 comments:

Lauren (in Savannah) said...

I love that my children love the rain. I myself love the rain and I know some people feel it depresses them but it makes me fell all warm and cozy. My girls feel the same way. As a child I have fond memories of listening to a rainy days "record album"(lol)(olden days here) with a childhood friend. I often wonder if the idea that rainy days can be fun made me enjoy rain. I even look forward to it!

Marie said...

Thanks for sharing beauty with us. Our 15-month old grandson was visiting us from SF and he had never played with leaves. We had some raked up in our backyard and he enjoyed them. He loved the beauty of them being thrown into the air and falling on his head. They have no trees and this was a new experience for Noah.
Love,
Marie

angie said...

My daughter loves to have a lit candle at the dinner table. She says that it makes the meal seem special.
My son takes notice when I change his bed linens and fold down the layers at the pillow to expose the sheets. He doesn't say why, but I suspect it is because it feels welcoming to him.