Beauty has no obvious use nor is there any clear cultural necessity for it. Yet civilization could not do without it – Sigmund Freud
I do like beautiful things… but what is beauty… that is so personal don’t you think ?! Monet or Picasso, Dior or Versace, ballet or hip hop, Beethoven or Pearl Jam, a rose or a dandelion, Buckingham Palace or Centre Pompidou,… What is beautiful to one, can be hideous to someone else. The main thing is that everybody sees beauty in something.
And indeed, as Freud states, beauty has no obvious use. We could all survive without beauty… but without beauty, the world would be dull and boring !
Now just take a minute to soak up what beautiful things are surrounding you at the moment…just take a look around. OK, there might be a pile of laundry waiting to be ironed, dirty dishes in the sink, a cobweb that has been there for the last couple of days,… but just look beyond that. .. what do you see that you think is beautiful ? What is worth looking at ? What was worth paying for ? Or even things you got for free ? Perhaps even things that you don’t even notice anymore… a magazine with beautiful clothes or interiors in it, furniture that isn’t only practical but is worth looking at, a lovely tune on the radio, pictures in which at one time you saw enough beauty to hang them on your walls, a book you like reading, a lovely view out of your window, the dress you’ve just ironed that’s hanging on a chair waiting for you to take it upstairs to your closet,…
We are surrounded by so much beauty. We often take things for granted, but if you take the time and really look at the things that are right there in front of you, you might appreciate these things just a bit more. And so Freud is right… we couldn’t do without beauty !
Love, Kathleen
Have you read my thoughts on being kind? You can read it here…
the good, the fab & the lovely 