Beautiful

I feel the need to create. I don’t know exactly what to create at this point.  But I do know this – It needs to mean something.

It needs to be full of beauty, even if I am the only one that sees the beauty.  Not just in people, but in situations.  In words.  In works.  In nature.  In the man made.  In the God made.

“I need to make beautiful things even if no one cares.”

It needs to have value.
It needs to have heart.
It needs to speak to someone.

It needs to speak from my heart.

I’ve had a couple ideas that I’ve been kicking around for a while.

One that keeps coming to the front is a truth in beauty project.
Combination of words and photos.
Black and white.
Seeking and finding the beauty within.
Think of the Dove advertising campaign they did a while ago.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYhCn0jf46U

You know, honest, authentic, beauty.

Only without the photoshop.

So, I think I’m going to start there.

Any volunteers to take this walk with me? Just message me, email me, or leave a comment here and I’ll get back to you!

Here are a couple bits of inspiration that have helped me in my planning…

First there are a couple songs that have nudged a tender spot in my heart.  An area that I thought had healed a long time ago. “Beautiful” by Mercy Me, “Beautiful Beautiful” by Francesca Battistelli, and “A More Beautiful You” by Jonny Diaz.  Until I get the rights to include their lyrics in my writing, you’ll just have to Google them if you aren’t familiar with the songs.  But if & when I do get those rights, I will include them in the project.

There are a couple quotes that have come to my attention recently, and they sort of acted as a catalyst to get me started, confirmation that this is something I could and should look into again.

The most beautiful people we have knows are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.
Elizabeth Kubler Ros

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We need to teach our daughters the difference between a man who flatters her and a man who compliments her, a man who spends money on her and a man who invests in her, a man who views her as property and a man who views her properly, a man who lusts after her and a man who loves her, a man who believes he is God’s gift to women and a man who remembers a woman was God’s gift to man, and then teach our sons to be that kind of man.

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What is beauty? Is it a look, a feeling?

Dictionary.com: beau·ty [byoo-tee] noun, plural -ties.
1. the quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind, whether arising from sensory manifestations (as shape, color, sound, etc.), a meaningful design or pattern, or something else (as a personality in which high spiritual qualities are manifest).
2. a beautiful person, especially a woman.
3. a beautiful thing, as a work of art or a building.
4. Often, beauties. something that is beautiful in nature or in some natural or artificial environment.
5. an individually pleasing or beautiful quality; grace; charm: a vivid blue area that is the one real beauty of the painting.

Wikipedia goes a little further (after an initial definition similar to that):
The experience of “beauty” often involves the interpretation of some entity as being in balance and harmony with nature, which may lead to feelings of attraction and emotional well-being. Because this is a subjective experience, it is often said that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” In its most profound sense, beauty may engender a salient experience of positive reflection about the meaning of one’s own existence. A subject of beauty is anything that resonates with personal meaning.

The Bible has a lot of different things to say about beauty, good and bad, but my favorite is from 1 Peter 3:4 – You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.

So what am I going to do? Well, honestly, like I said before, I’m not completely sure how this will all come together at this point.  But I know I will be looking for help.  I am looking for people who write, who create, who build up, who tear down, and for people who are comfortable in their own skin.

I’m looking for people who are not comfortable in their own skin as well, and I’m hoping that together, we can get there.  I am looking for people who would like to remain anonymous – and who will trust me to keep their anonymity.

I’m looking for people who are willing to be honest and willing to share that honesty with strangers.  And I am looking for people who can trust me with all of that – just on my word.

And, just so you know up-front, this will probably end up in the form of a book… just because that’s what I do these days. (see www.blurb.com – this is where I have things printed)  If I don’t hear from enough willing participants, I will presume that this idea was not meant to be.

What do you say?  Are you interested?

I say – “Beautiful!”

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