Beautiful...

I think there are a lot of beautiful things in this world, and I've learned and am still learning to find the beauty in the little things. I find things in nature to be beautiful when someone else may not. There used to be a deserted field in our town that would produce thousands of dandelions every spring and summer. It was a sea of yellow and every time we drove past it I would tell my husband how very much I loved it. He would chuckle and tell me that they were just weeds and a lot of people don't like these weeds. But to me, it was beautiful.

Maybe I loved this field because dandelions are the flowers that my children routinely pick for me on our walks.

 I make a very big deal out of these preciously picked dandelions and put them in a glass full of water that goes right in the center of our table. I don't throw them out until they are brown and drooping. That field of dandelions is no more, as they tilled it up and built a parking lot to replace it.  I still get a twinge of sadness whenever I drive by the dandelion graveyard.

I got a mean comment on one of my Instagram photos that I posted.

Something to the effect of you think this $*@# is beautiful? I deleted the comment and then I deleted the photo and then I thought about it and wondered why someone would take the time to leave a hurtful remark? If they didn't like it, they could have very easily scrolled on through.

 I wanted to snap back at them with an equally rude remark. But what good would that have done? I thought about this...Be kind to unkind people, they need it most. Whoever came up with this quote must have been a saint, because those words are hard to live by. I'm learning, slowly, I'm learning that good can prevail; kindness can win; and it starts with me.

Instagram is my happy place. It's where I go to see photos of what others think is beautiful. Their children; a sunrise; a sunset; some pretty flowers; a glowing smile. It's my documenting the everyday things; the little things; the little joys; the things that make me smile and maybe even make you smile too. It's my place to see the beauty in a sometimes messy, complicated, chaotic world.

There is beauty everywhere. I will continue to snap my photos. Others may not think they are beautiful, and that's OK. To me, though, there is beauty in those moments frozen in time; those moments worth remembering.

Open your mouth only if what you're about to say is more beautiful than silence.--arabic proverb