Beautification

I’ve not finished a book in a while. 

The last thing I read was All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr and it was a thing of beauty.

I’ve been fortunate enough to see a lot of that today, which is often the way with beauty isn’t it? Being in the right place at the right time and able to receive and appreciate it.

Sometimes, dependent on your frame of mind you really have to look around to find it, but it’s usually there and in the simplest things, the evening sun breaking through a tree line, five grey squirrels in a small space doing…..something or other, a perfectly timed song coming up on your playlist which not only nails your good mood but enhances it. 

Some really beautiful moments surprise you, such as this evening when on my evening run and having crossed the river, I headed right back on to Gooseholme, where the cherry blossoms are in full bloom outside St Georges Church. The wind was whipping around, taking the blooms with it and just for a couple of seconds the cherry blossom whirled around me as I ran through the mini flowery tornado.

The other day, the children and I were walking back down from the castle and through the cemetery - which has its own maudlin beauty - and there was a funeral in progress outside. The attendees were all observing the social distancing guidelines throughout the service and there was something so moving in seeing daylight between those black-clad individuals and the shadows they cast as they paid their respects. 

On other occasions, beauty can be found in the words of a book (such as the marvellous specimen pictured here), posted to you by someone special. It can come at just the right time, drawing you in and leaving you with a tear in your eye and a lump in your throat with its simple tale of friendship, love and the healing power of music.

I don’t know how anyone could fail to see the beauty in that.

Stay healthy.