Rocks are Beautiful (and can teach us)

"Study how water flows in a valley stream, smoothly and freely between the ROCKS. Also learn from holy books and wise people. Everything - even mountains, rivers, plants and trees - should be your teacher." ~ Morihei Ueshiba

What can you learn from these rocks, so thoughtfully and beautifully placed by our friends at Gospel of Goose?

 

Can you learn to slow down? Can you learn to see the beautiful intricacies of nature? Can you take a moment to find beauty in something too quickly dubbed "mundane"? Can you invite the mountains, rivers, plants, and trees to teach you how to see and create more beautiful in the world? Can you be a model for others? The answer to all of this is, of course, yes. You already make this world better by simply being in it.

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Are you looking for a for a tangible reminder to see beautiful, or know someone who needs one? Check out our See Beautiful™ products (and feel good knowing a portion of proceeds from every purchase is donated to charity. This month 20% of all product sales will be donated to the World Bird Sanctuary. Click HERE to learn more. 

The Bicultural Mama Sees Beautiful!

Everyone can learn from the Bicultural Mama. She oozes kindness, concern, and a giving focus on her blog. Maria, the self-proclaimed Bicultural Mama, is a "first generation Chinese-American married to an All-American guy from Long Island" (Wen Adock, 2012). Her blog constantly invites readers to explore topics related to parenting, culture and society. And we find that her posts often leave us reflecting on decisions we make in our own lives or scrambling to copy her blog url to share with others.


Always relevant, ever-thoughtful, Maria's writing mirrors a "See Beautiful" focus to see and create more beautiful in the world. As she writes about "celebrating the best of both worlds" we realize she's helping her readers celebrate the best of our own worlds too. It's through conversations about culture, exploring others' cultures, and understanding how that exploration makes this world better that we are growing. One of our favorite pieces of the Bicultural Mama's blog is her ability to bring her readers into the conversation. Posing questions about her own posts to invite greater conversation is part of celebrating the world from many perspectives and we love this beautiful openness and interest in others.


Thank you, Bicultural Mama, for helping us recognize how we can better celebrate beautiful in ourselves and the world!

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• Visit Bicultural Mama's BLOG.
• Follow the Bicultural Mama on TWITTER.
• Check the Bicultural Mama out of FACEBOOK

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Are you looking for a for a tangible reminder to see beautiful, or know someone who needs one? Check out our See Beautiful™ products (and feel good knowing a portion of proceeds from every purchase is donated to charity. This month 20% of all product sales will be donated to the World Bird Sanctuary. Click HERE to learn more.

Postcards to See Beautiful

See Beautiful will be seeing beautiful through the end of the month while traveling (in person) through various countries. During that time, we're going back in time on the blog, back to the beginning and some of our favorite posts that our wonderful following now likely didn't get to experience. P.S., Blogger family, if we seem absent from visiting you know we'll be back soon to catch up!

5.26.11 - Postcards

Thank you to our See Beautiful™ contributing author, Lindsay Criss McCollum, who provided the See Beautiful Post for today.

"One of our Canadian friends is decorating her newborn baby's room with postcards from loved ones living around the world. It's a terrific idea to surround a child with images of people and places from foreign lands. Even better is the idea to surround a child with loving notes from friends on the back of such images. Surely the collection of postcards the baby receives will be special to her when she gets older. It's a wonder how the images and messages will influence her as she grows and learns about the world herself.

After choosing a card of Vienna to send to the baby, the daily routine of passing hundreds of postcards on the streets of Vienna is different now somehow. While no longer annoying obstacles to dodge, they have become thinking posts. Each card is now something to consider. One wonders, who will buy the card? What will be written on it? Who will receive it? And what influence will it have? Sure, there is the chance that it might not have much of an influence at all. But, considering the power that a postcard does have is quite beautiful isn't it?"

This is a postcard received  from the See Beautiful™ contributor herself:

Ways to See Beautiful:

• Sharing kind words with friends
• Letting a child know how much they are loved
• Sending a seemingly simple postcard to friend that has the ability to brighten her/his day, week, or month.

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Are you looking for a for a tangible reminder to see beautiful, or know someone who needs one? Check out our See Beautiful™ products (and feel good knowing a portion of proceeds from every purchase is donated to charity. This month a portion of all proceeds will be donated to the Ferst Foundation for Childhood Literacy. Click HERE.

A Yogi, An Artist, A Healer

See Beautiful Woman of the Month: Tanja Zaninovic

Tajna Zaninovic is beautiful. When Tajna submitted her story to us we could feel the calmness and kindness and beauty radiating from her words. Something about her writing begs to you take a deep breath and simply reflect. Her life's work to heal and grow and inspire is beautiful.  Her writing reflects invitations to others to embrace themselves within each day and find the beauty in it. We love that. We admire her. And we're happy to feature her as our See Beautiful Woman of the Month for July!

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By Tajna Zaninovic

I am a yogi, artist, and healer from Hawai'i.

I hope to share the divine Liberation of Yoga with women. I meet so many women with self doubt, fear, worries, and loathing towards themselves who seem to question their validity and reasons for life. I too questioned this myself for a long time. Ten years ago I took my first yoga class and it opened me tremendously. Five years ago I came back to yoga, on a regular basis. Since then, I have been a firm Yogi, devoted to yoga and its amazing transformative and unionizing aspects on the whole being, brain and body.

Last year my niece was born, the next day my grandfather died, and within the same year I permanently ended my university studies. At times I was seriously contemplating suicide, but I would get up, get on my yoga mat, and do my asana. It didn't matter how many times I cried,or how many times I collapsed into child's pose on that mat. Yoga was the unquestionable reason for my fortitude and strength, and I kept going, kept living, kept my pranayama (breath) through many difficult times. A friend left a flier on my doorstep about a yoga teacher training course, and something in my Being told me that I was intended to go there no matter what. Nothing would stand in my way, as long as I trusted and put faith in the Creator and the Universe.

Daily I go running in nature and I offer my prayers and thanks to the Creator and the Universe. I know All are listening. Here I am nearly a year later, preparing for a beautiful yoga teacher training course starting next month. I have not enough words for my gratitude, towards the Creator, the Universe, my family and friends, and especially the very supportive director of the program, Allowah Lani.

Most of all, I am grateful for existing, and for all Beings, for we are all Love, we are all One, and through showing Love towards all,we are united. My goal through my training is to start a private yoga instructor business, LivingAum, in which I shall tailor yoga sessions for each student, based on her/his physical, mental, emotional and spiritual states.

Each woman is beautiful and unique and deserves her own special practice and time. I devote my life to the spreading of yoga, encouraging all women to embrace their beauties and to let go of any negativity about themselves or in themselves.

Namaste and Aloha,
Tajna Zaninovic

Connect with Tajna's kind hope for all to remember what's important in this life HERE. 
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Are you looking for a for a tangible reminder to see beautiful, or know someone who needs one? Check out our See Beautiful™ products (and feel good knowing a portion of proceeds from every purchase is donated to charity. This month a portion of all proceeds will be donated to the Ferst Foundation for Childhood Literacy. Click HERE.

Duck? No. Duck? No. Goose? YES!

Goose is a dog. Goose is a smile. Goose is a laugh. Goose is love. Goose is beautiful.

The Gospel of Goose is our July See Beautiful's blog of the month and we're so honored and happy to share with others. You see, the Gospel of Goose blog offers readers the opportunity to laugh, reflect, grow, give, smile, pray, love, and repeat the process. Goose and his MOM are living a life full of adventures with moose, sneaky snakes, Bert, water (up to elbows max), church, sticks, sticks, and more sticks. Goose's voice is hilarious - both written and translated in our minds. Goose always sees beautiful, whether flooding the yard or visiting his church garden. It is difficult to recall how and when we found this blog, but somewhere between reading the blog and engaging in the blog we started to feel a little bit like Goose could feel our virtual belly rubs and we could feel his sweet puppy love. As inherent dog lovers, it's easy to be a fan of Goose's upon opening the blogosphere, but there's something really special about our four-legged-friend and that is part of the reason more people should have the treat of experiencing life through Goose (and his always-seeing-beautiful mom). Here are a couple examples of Goose seeing beautiful:

Goose, if all dogs and all blogs could share as much beautiful as you this world would never need See Beautiful - and that would be good.

This picture is for you, Goose. Love, Us ...Yes, we went old school stick chewing for you.

 VISIT GOOSE ON HIS BLOG, GOSPEL OF GOOSE, HERE.
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Are you looking for a for a tangible reminder to see beautiful, or know someone who needs one? Check out our See Beautiful™ products (and feel good knowing a portion of proceeds from every purchase is donated to charity. This month a portion of all proceeds will be donated to the Ferst Foundation for Childhood Literacy. Click HERE.

Pay It Forward: Making Lemonade With Becky

Dear Ann Taylor Representatives,

I would be remiss to start this letter without stating that I defended my dissertation in a suit from your store. Every time I donned the suit I recalled the feeling of successfully completing my PhD. Until now. Now the items hang in my closet and I question when I will wear them again.

Last week a dear friend, Becky Andrews, was asked to leave your store - more than once - when she entered with her guide dog, Cricket. Told that dogs weren't allowed in the store, Becky explained that Cricket was her guide dog - her eyes. To both a sales associate and the manager Becky had to justify being in the store with Cricket. Cricket is indeed allowed in any public location thanks to the Americans with Disabilities Act. Unfortunately, the ADA wasn't strong enough for the people who asked Becky and Cricket to leave. Saddened to read this reaction, I sent my own letter to Ann Taylor headquarters hoping to shed light on an obvious opportunity for some to expand their understanding of the ADA. I received no response.

Fast forward to today. In the past week sweet, kind, loving, courageous, inspiring Becky extended an invitation to the exact company who turned her away to offer an opportunity to educate sales associates so that the next time someone entered their store with a guide dog or another service animal they would be welcomed and treated with respect. Becky says this was a "simple" invitation - I see it as beautiful and thoughtful and loving too. With even more sadness, Ann Taylor issued a statement that Becky entered the store without Cricket in a harness. I second Becky's response, "Absolutely absurd!"  For any of you who read Becky's blog you know Cricket serves as Becky's eyes - she does this through the use of the harness. I was pleased to learn that the company recently retracted their statement that Cricket was out of her harness, but the response sent to many who they did reply to initially severely skewed (to the point of lying) what actually happened when Becky and Cricket entered the store.

While I was saddened by the Ann Taylor associates in Round 1 of this experience with Becky being asked to leave, Round 2 of issuing a statement that Cricket was out of a harness - essentially claiming Becky was doing something in direct opposition to who successfully guided her into the store - is, frankly, terrible. The recent statement was a meager step in an expected direction to healing for Becky.

Round 3? I don't know how to right a wrong. I don't know how one goes about retracting statements and making one feel welcome again, but I know that of all the kind, giving, loving people out there, Becky and Cricket always look for ways to see beautiful in the world. You'll remember Becky's outlook on life when she was featured as our See Beautiful woman of the month; she makes everyone around her feel loved and empowered. She does this for a living - every single day. Round 3 might just be a loss for Ann Taylor and a larger platform for Becky to educate people on guide dogs, the ADA, and her beautiful strength and courage.

We're paying it forward by using our saddened energy to squish lemons and make lemonade. Becky, thank you for your courage. Thank you for inspiring. Thank you for placing your energy in such beautiful, positive places. Thank you for the many, many ways you see the world and help everyone around you reconceptualize the lens through which we understand the world as well. Ann Taylor could learn so much from seeing the world through you and Cricket.

Sincerely,
Lydia Criss Mays, PhD
Founder & CEO, See Beautiful

To share your lemonade and support with Becky, click HERE.
If you feel compelled to weigh in with Ann Taylor, you may do so HERE.

Arianna's Random Thoughts are Full of Awesome

Arianna Merritt is beautiful. Upon getting to know Arianna, we found ourselves wanting to spend more time around her inspiring, thoughtfulness. Her blog, Arianna's Random Thoughts, includes posts that aren't random at all. They're moving and thought-provoking and empowering. Her writing reflects invitations to others to embrace the day and enjoy the beauty in it. We love that. We admire her. And we're happy to feature her as our See Beautiful Woman of the Month for June! 

 By Arianna Merritt

I truly believe we all possess the ability to see the beautiful things in the world. If one looks closely, beauty is everywhere.

Seeing beauty in the world starts with seeing beauty in oneself.  This is a hard fact to realize: you don’t need to go find beauty; you take it with you wherever you go. Sometimes, however, we can have blinders on that prevent us from seeing beauty. Or, the blinders allow us to focus only on certain aspects of it.

To be beautiful and see beautiful, one needs to develop the strength to keep these blinders off permanently.

That is what happened to me.

I was a free spirit until these “blinders” were put on me unconsciously in my early teens.  As a result, I switched my focus to caring about what others thought rather than listening to my own voice. I let the media and my peers control the standard of beauty that I was judging myself on.  Therefore, my vision of beauty became extremely limited. 

The teenage years were the hardest for me, as I placed too much emphasis on “fitting in” with the “right” crowd, and I ended up silencing myself. I was criticized by fellow classmates, and I did not have the strength to reject these comments.  Consequently, I struggled with my body image and self-esteem. These were the “dark” years for me, when I spent most of my time hiding and not letting my inner light shine.

I hid my talent, my body, and my voice, because I didn’t want to stand out and be judged.

This continued until my early twenties.  Then something happened:  I’m not sure how, but my blinders came off.  The change came from within.  The light inside switched on. This time, I’m not going to let it dim.

All obstacles occur in our lives to teach us lessons.  I learned the hard way that beauty comes from within, and we take it with us everywhere we go. I am incorporating this lesson into all the work I do - through my graduate studies, coaching, sport, and blog, Arianna’sRandom Thoughts.

As my blog’s mission statement says:

 My light was almost extinguished. Don’t let yours be. Make the choice, every instance, to shine brightly by seeing beauty in yourself and the world - by being you! 

To read more of Arianna's Random (and awesome) Thoughts, click HERE.

To tweet with her, click HERE.

To follow on Facebook, click HERE. 
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Are you looking for a for a tangible reminder to see beautiful, or know someone who needs one? Check out our See Beautiful™ products (and feel good knowing a portion of proceeds from every purchase is donated to charity. This month a portion of all proceeds will be donated to Surf Dog Ricochet's SURFice Projects. Click HERE.

Wrong Body?

This post was inspired by the beautiful blog post, Real Women, written by Hanne Blank. We encourage you to read the whole post here. 

Blank writes, "There's no wrong way to have a body." There's every way to embrace your body. There's every way to see beautiful in yourself, your shape, your eyes, your nose, your fingers (if you have them), your mind, your heart, your soul. There's every way to appreciate the body and hearts and minds of others.

There is no wrong way to have a body. Your elbow? Just the way they're supposed to be. Your eyebrows? Yep, perfect. The stubble on the top of your knee caps? It's not wrong. There's no wrong way to have a body. There's every way to appreciate your body.

It's so easy to catch a passing glimpse of yourself in the mirror and wish for something different. But why? What about your body needs fixing? What about yourself isn't the self you can love and honor and celebrate?

Having heard three-year-old girls talk about needing better clothes and eight-year-old girls claim they want to "throw up to be skinny like their sister" we're missing a stark and obvious message: No one else in the world looks exactly like you do because they're not supposed to! No one else is supposed to have knuckles or knees or shoulder blades or toes or wrists or even hair follicles like you do. Just you. Your heart, it's uniquely yours too. Your mind, oh it's even more complex than the millions of facial expressions you can make.

There's no wrong way to have a body - unless, of course, you're trying to make your body look like someone else's. That might just be a wrong way to have a body. Your body is yours because you own it. We all have bodies, right? Did we miss something? Yep, looked down. Check. Body is there. In tact. Every person we've ever come in contact with has a body. You know what? It wasn't like anyone else's. Isn't that neat? Isn't it fascinating?

There's every way to embrace your body. There's every way to love your body. There are infinite ways for you to find beauty in other's as well. When was the last time to walked past a mirror and embraced what you saw? The last time you walked by others and celebrated the uniqueness of them?

Far beyond skin and hair and nails is a heart and mind and soul that has the opportunity to impart the most beautiful change and peace and love in the world. You carry that. That is stunningly beautiful. That is every-second-real. That makes you shine. You are beautiful.

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Are you looking for a tangible reminder to see beautiful, or know someone who needs one? Check out our See Beautiful™ products (and feel good knowing a portion of proceeds from every purchase is donated to charity. This month a portion of all proceeds will be donated to Guide Dogs of America. Click HERE.

Painfully Optimistic

Painfully Optomistic by Ross McCreery

If the title of Ross McCreery's blog, Painfully Optomistic, doesn't leave you seeing beautiful immediately, hold on to your fruit cakes, because you're in for  a treat! Ross McCreery is a self-professed lover of life and he shares that love of life and dedication to seeing beautiful through his writing, and even more recently his stunningly beautiful photography. Father, husband, photographer, blogger, (the list goes on and on), Ross captures optimism in the face of pain. Diagnosed with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)/Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy(RSD) over six years ago, Ross' life was transformed. Instead of shutting others out when loosing the use of his left hand and foot, and living with chronic pain twenty-four hours a day, he created a blog where others who suffer from CRPS/RSD or chronic pain could visit and seek a moment's peace, knowing they weren't alone and they could find optimism in their pain. Every visit to Ross' blog leaves us reflecting on the simple things in life that so many take for granted. For the masses, going to the grocery store and shopping for groceries is just one item to quickly scratch off a to-do list. For many, taking your children on a vacation to Disney World isn't riddled with how you're going to walk to and through the park. For Ross, the simple daily tasks of others are ones he tackles with great thanks and beautiful optimism that is reflected in his blog. More recently, he's begun capturing the way his lens of life can be reflected in the lens of a camera. We are proud owners of a piece of his work and there is something significantly special about looking into our picturesque landscape scene of a snow-covered field with the understanding that the person on the opposite side of the camera may not have felt amazing when setting out to snap pictures. He may not have had full function to capture the stunning scape he did. He might have wanted to retreat back to a warm house to sit and brood over unfair hands dealt in life. But he didn't . He doesn't ever seem to and that passion for life is reflected in the words on his blog and the images reflected in his photography. We are honored to feature Painfully Optomistic as our See Beautiful's blog of the month! Thanks for the way you help so many see beautiful in the world, Ross!

To visit Painfully Optomistic click HERE.
To visit Ross McCreery Photography click HERE.

On Seeing Beautiful

Our See Beautiful™ Woman of the Month, Becky Andrews, sees, creates, and  shares beautiful in so many ways. It was Becky's writing that first caught our attention as. Regardless of the topic she's sharing on her beautiful blog, Cruisin' With Cricket, you feel her positive, loving, kind demeanor seeping through the words. Glancing beyond the message of the words you begin to get to know the woman. Through her blog, Becky invites people around the world to choose beautiful, create beautiful, enjoy beautiful and share beauty with others. As a licensed professional counselor, Becky brings beautiful into a world for children and adults. Upon meeting Becky in person, a special encounter we will never forget, we were personally touched through conversation that could have lasted for days as each moment flew by. Becky's words, actions, and love for others radiates a stunning definition of See Beautiful; it is evidenced in observing her love for her precious guide dog, Cricket, and her life's work to provide more opportunities for others to see beautiful. We are honored to feature her here, as she creates so much beautiful through her writing, her work and sheer day to day interactions with others. We are lucky to call her a friend and will forever be grateful for the way she's helped us see more beautiful in the world.

As we have gotten to know Becky, we have also had the wonderful opportunity to learn more about Guide Dogs for the Blind, the wonderful non-profit from where she received both of her guide dogs. You can see Cricket, her current guide, featured with Becky below.

By Becky Andrews:

Almost 30 years ago at the age of 18 I was told that Seeing Beautiful would look differently to me than what I had visualized.  It was at this time, while dating my now husband of 28 years :), I was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa (www.fightblindness.org)  - a degenerative eye condition.  For some time I tried to hang on to what I had - pretend that I could see much better than I could while acquiring many bumps and bruises.   Steve and I married, were blessed with two beautiful children, I graduated from college all while my visual world was going dim.  I was experiencing many losses:  giving up my driving license, giving up my ability to even feel safe walking with my children, the joy of sitting down and reading a book, to name just a few.  I recall a day where my world didn't seem too beautiful even though it was a beautiful sunny summer day.  Steve was just leaving for work and our young children were still sleeping.  I felt hopeless and stranded (even though our home was in a wonderful location - close to busing, schools, church, stores -- so awesome but not on this day).  I sat on the steps outside our home and grieved for a few moments.  Then, I made a choice to find joy – to see beautiful a little differently in my life again.  Victor Frankle's words came to mind:  "The last of all human freedoms: the freedom to choose one's own way, to choose one's own attitude given any set of circumstances."  My kids got up, and we took the bus in to meet dad for lunch!  We turned that day into a beautiful day.

From that point on, Seeing Beautiful has become a conscious choice each day.  For me seeing beautiful was the moment of courage when I first pulled out that white cane and walked into my neighborhood grocery store for the first time.  When I excitedly walked out of the blind center with my lemon meringue pie I had made on my own, I saw beautiful.  It still brings a smile to my face when I enjoy a slice of lemon meringue pie!  Beautiful was confidently walking on the stage and sharing the gift of a guide dog at the Guide dogs for the Blind Holiday Luncheon (see pictures HERE.)

Now years later, blindness is simply a part of my daily life.  It does not define me. However, it has helped me see beauty in deep, meaningful ways.   I won't be able to describe someone by their outside appearance but rather who they are inside.   I’m not able to look through a magazine that may send a message of confusion of what beauty really means.  What a gift!

 To me Beautiful is my incredible husband and children -- family  - the joy of meaningful relationships. Beautiful is walking outside and hearing the birds chirping enthusiastically about life and feeling the fresh air. Beautiful is laughing with friends.  Beautiful is seeing the world through the eyes of a beautiful guide dog.  Beautiful is singing, "wheeeeeeeeeee" while tandem cycling with my husband down a hill.  Beautiful is digging in the dirt and visualizing what flowers to plant in my garden. Our own unique creativity is beautiful.  Visualizing in my head an outfit to wear for the day is beautiful.  Beautiful is creating a dream:  Resilient Solutions, Inc & Resilient Center for Grieving Families are two of mine after completing a master's degree in counseling.  Seeing the strength and resilience of my clients is beautiful.  Experiencing kindness and hearing how someone else has received kindness from another is beautiful to me. 

To See Beautiful is seeing the beauty in our lives (gratitude), celebrating our individuality and sharing that beauty with others.     

Connect with Becky on her wonderful blog, Cruisin' With Cricket HERE.
Learn about Becky's important and beautiful with her company, Resilient Solutions, Inc & Resilient Center for Grieving Families HERE.
Visit Guide Dogs for the Blind. The wonderful non-profit organization from where Becky received her guide dogs.
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Are you looking for a tangible reminder to see beautiful, or know someone who needs one? Check out our See Beautiful™ products (and feel good knowing a portion of proceeds from every purchase is donated to charity. This month a portion of all proceeds will be donated to Guide Dogs of America. Click HERE.   

See Beautiful Woman of the Month: Heather Nelsen

See Beautiful Woman of the Month:

Our See Beautiful Woman of the Month, Heather Nelsen, shares beautiful in so many ways. We are honored to feature her here, as she creates so much beautiful through her writing, her work and sheer day to day interactions with others. As a teacher, Heather inspires children daily. Through her blog, she reaches hundreds and invites all who visit to find more beautiful. She writes to make others smile and feel inspired (and after visiting her blog you do - feel inspired). She empowers children to love life and learning and she invites those who read who blog to reflect and grow with her. It's beautiful. She's beautiful.

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By Heather Nelsen

 

I view seeing beautiful as a choice that I make each day, each hour, sometimes each minute. To me, seeing beautiful is perspective on what I have to be grateful for. As my husband always says when I'm seeing less than beautiful, "We're too blessed to be stressed!" The truth in those words, combined with the big cheesy grin on his face as he stands with his arms spread open, hinting to me, "See?!"can pull me from my anxious state. Well, most of the time. See, by nature, I'm a bit of a worrywart. I like to have my i's dotted and my t's crossed (and my bed made, and my picture frames straight, and the labels in my pantry and refrigerator facing forward... wait, but everyone is like that- right?). As much as it pains me to say it, I like to have control. But God reminds me daily, that HE is the one in control- and I am much better off because of it. I see what happens in my life when I try to take control, and it's not pretty. And I feel what it's like when I hand over control, and it feels like peace. But seeing beautiful is not always easy. And it's almost never natural. In January, my mom was taken to the hospital after several worrisome episodes of dimentia and amnesia, all within a few-hours time period. In the five minutes that I was able to speak to her on the phone after she was admitted, she repeated, multiple times, "And how did I get here again?" I immediately thought the worst: Stoke. Tumor. Alzheimer's. My mom, who turned 63 in November, somehow went from being exuberant, energetic, and fiesty, to confused, forgetful, and distressed- all in a matter of a few hours. The controlling side of me immediately called a friend who is a nurse to ask what could possibly cause such a sudden onset of memory loss. Then I searched the computer and came up with a list of suggestions and tests that I wanted the doctors to hear out and perform. Yes- I was that person. Because a third-grade teacher with medical background gained from watching Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice could surely shed light onto a new diagnosis that the neurologists and cardiologists hadn't thought of on their own. Of course... that makes perfect sense. Or at least that's what my not-so-trusting and slightly-too-controlling side believed. I'm also a DOer. I can't just sit around and wait. Or, as I'm learning, the not-so-seeing-beautiful side of me is. Thankfully, I have a husband who see's beautiful when I can't. Or won't. He puts perspective into my worry, without taking away from the realness of my fear. Which is also part of what seeing beautiful means to me- being able to put yourself into someone else's shoes and respond in a way that works for them, regardless of how you may want someone to handle that same situation with you. So in my fear, I tried to let go of the control, and trust.

The next afternoon, after a clear CT Scan, MRI, Carotid Artery Test, EKG, EEG, and Electrolyte test, my mom's sudden memory loss was diagnosed as Transient Global Amnesia- a condition that is rare, has no known permanent side affects, and is unlikely to ever occur again.

What an unbelievable relief! I was suddenly back to thanking the Lord and seeing beautiful again.

. . .But I'm not really proud of that. Because as much as I'd like to say I was 100% trusting that things would turn out okay and that God was in control, in actuality, what I did in those hours was let my circumstances determine my perspective, and de-fuel my faith.

Seeing beautiful, for me, would be getting the chance to go back and get a do-over on those hours, and really trust, despite the end result, that God was in control, and that He was fighting the battles for me, and my mom, and truly believe that all we had to do was be still. 

Maybe I needed a reminder that circumstances don't determine who God is. And circumstances can't determine where my trust lies. 

I do know, far beyond a maybe, that I am SO thankful to have my mom back. I'm thankful I had the following weekend to cook with her- something we always talk about doing, but don't do enough. I'm thankful that she can again tell me stories with details so precise, they could make a blind person see. I'm thankful she could do her little jig when I showed up at her door on that cooking-day Saturday, and then give the same excitement when my sister and her boys showed up just a little later.

So I'm starting again, today. And tomorrow. And the next day. And hopefully everyday after- to remember that seeing beautiful is handing over the things that I can't control to the One who can, and will- despite how I may see the outcome from my own little perspective.

Visit Heather's blog, Notes from the Nelsens, HERE.
Connect with her on Facebook HERE.
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Are you looking for a tangible reminder to see beautiful, or know someone who needs one? Check out our See Beautiful™ products (and feel good knowing a portion of proceeds from every purchase is donated to charity. This month a portion of all proceeds will be donated to Getting to Better. Click HERE.   

See Beautiful in Birds

We can all learn an important lesson from birds. Birds sing after powerful storms, finding beautiful in what moments before was dark. This is one reason a bird is reflected in the logo of See Beautiful.

Here are some other reasons a bird was chosen to reflect our mission to empower more people to see and create more beautiful in themselves and the world:

PATIENCE: "A wise old owl sat on an oak; The more he saw the less he spoke; The less he spoke the more he heard; Why aren't we like that wise old bird?" - Edward Hersey Richards

GRACE & FREEDOM: "The very idea of a bird is a symbol and a suggestion to the poet. A bird seems to be at the top of the scale, so vehement and intense his life. . . . The beautiful vagabonds, endowed with every grace, masters of all climes, and knowing no bounds -- how many human aspirations are realised in their free, holiday-lives -- and how many suggestions to the poet in their flight and song!" ~ John Burroughs

THANKFUL: "A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song." -Chinese Proverb 

SELF-CONFIDENCE: "Be as a bird perched on a frail branch that she feels bending beneath her, still she sings away all the same, knowing she has wings." ~ Victor Hugo

 STRENGTH: "It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: It would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad." ~ C.S. Lewis 

All of these things help us see more beautiful in the world. One of the most beautiful birds we've seen is one that beautiful Lindsay at Our View from Wien made for us. This beautiful cross stitch invited us to See Beautiful in a way we had not yet seen. Her creativity and thoughtfulness in crafting See Beautiful invites us to embrace the ideas emulated in our mission everyday. Her See Beautiful bird reminds us that patience, grace, freedom, thankfulness, increased self-confidence and strength are things we work to improve in everyone around the world every single day. Thank you, Lindsay for helping all of us see a little more beautiful!

Happy seeing beautiful to all! 
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Are you looking for a tangible reminder to see beautiful, or know someone who needs one? Check out our See Beautiful™ products (and feel good knowing a portion of proceeds from every purchase is donated to charity. This month a portion of all proceeds will be donated to Life Vest Inside. Click HERE.  

Greetings From Texas To Leave You Seeing Beautiful

Greetings From Texas, by Megan Silianoff

Megan makes us smile. She makes us laugh. Every time we visit her blog we leave giggling. We can't help it, she's that wicked awesome. She makes us see beautiful in the I-just-need-a-break-from-the-real-world-being-too-serious-with-itself moments. We love her for it! Her blog, Greetings from Texas, is serving up beautifully crafted wittiness, with a Texas-sized side of charm. Dessert is another helping of funny. We've featured Megan a couple times on See Beautiful here and here and we're honored to name her our See Beautiful's blog of the month. If you're in need of a well-written laugh today, just pop on over to Greetings From Texas. Megan is bound to leave you smiling.

Currently writing her memoir, Cancer With Charisma, Megan is cataloging her experiences with a 2010 diagnosis with ovarian cancer which resulted in "four surgeries and one prescription of vicodin that were instrumental to her current remission" (Silianoff, 2012).  This one's going straight to the NYTimes Bestseller list. We feel it!

Get jiggy with her on Facebook,Twitter and Pinterest too!
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Are you looking for a tangible reminder to see beautiful, or know someone who needs one? Check out our See Beautiful™ products (and feel good knowing a portion of proceeds from every purchase is donated to charity. This month a portion of all proceeds will be donated to Life Vest Inside. Click HERE.  
 

Positive Daily Affirmations

See Beautiful Woman of the Month:

Our See Beautiful Woman of the Month, Deborah Drake, shares beautiful in so many ways. We are honored to feature her here, as she features so many opportunities for others to see beautiful through the positive daily affirmations she weaves into her own life and shares with so many others. Deborah inspires thousands on a daily basis. She shares opportunities to do so through her writing and affirmations. She writes for herself and she writes to empower her readers. She invites all to reflect and grow with her, but at heart, she is looking for ways to make the world a better place and help you do the same. It's beautiful. She's beautiful.

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Positive Daily Affirmations: The Story of Origin by Deborah Drake

It was March of 2010 that I started a weekly meet-up that I STILL call, A Writer’s Support Group for the Reticent Blogger. I invited three people I knew and promoted the event through a network I was part of. Will Sugg showed up as a new member of the Biznik community and my event was the first one he would attend. He started every week and as the group grew in size rather quickly, and I got to know the regulars, we became friends. Will is a savvy person all things internet with a heart of gold. And I’d like to say it was destined that we design something to do together. Turns out, the URL Positive Daily Affirmations was for some reason AVAILABLE….go figure.

Well, Will acquired the URL address, we crafted a message, a blog, a short video on how to write affirmations that I did the audio for and I began the Facebook Fan Page as well as a Twitter account. My plan was to post an original thought daily. Sometimes I wind up posting more than once. It’s as if I share me and my day through the daily PDA postings. And what a spiritual practice it has become for me.

Since June 2010 when we commenced the blog and FB fan page, I’ve channeled over 600 affirmations that are as I say, “original for me in the moment.” It is how I start and end my day. It is how I take a moment of active meditation. I’m rather verbal as well as inclined to walk five miles in the morning.

I love the global community that follows the daily updates. I had no idea that it would simply be a matter of time organically to have a community of over 3000. I am humbled each day I find yet another global friend.

It is our wish that people use the opportunity, the FB page, the blog as a place to express themselves and add CHI into to natural flow of life.

I am motivated by Community, Creativity and Collaboration.  Positive Daily Affirmations, the FB community, the blog, and the products in development are all about being all that and Unique in the Moment.

The way we see it, why not spread cheer and love and positivity. The world needs more love. We all do. And I hope that more people share their hearts through posts and comments. I truly do.

Connect with Positive Daily Affirmations (who doesn't need more of those?)
Positive Daily Affirmations BLOGS HERE
Positive Daily Affirmations FACEBOOK'S HERE
Positive Daily Affirmations TWEETS HERE
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Are you looking for a tangible reminder to see beautiful, or know someone who needs one? Check out our See Beautiful™ products (and feel good knowing a portion of proceeds from every purchase is donated to charity. This month a portion of all proceeds will be donated to Life Vest Inside. Click HERE.  

There's No "U" or "I" in Beautiful

Today's post is co-written by the famous Goose, from the Gospel of Goose blog (which if you haven't, check it out and prepare to see more beautiful today) and us. We dabble a little of both of ourselves through this post and it's special.

Goose writes (he's such a talented dog): On Ash Wednesday (2/22) MOM was preparing for the worship service.  Feeling inspired in a beautiful way she prepared the altar with the ashes from the previous Palm Sunday. I had her take a picture of it to send to you.

It's "See Beautiful" in ashes. So, after all was said and done MOM looked at the pictures and noticed that she had left out an "I" in beautiful.  Hehhee! I told her it was beautiful just as it was.  I tried to bestow some Goose wisdom on her.  Basically I said, "Sure it is missing an "I".  But what does that really mean?  In this beautiful community of faith we are a part of there are no "I's" (except the great I AM.)  We are a community of we's and us, and we work together not alone.  So MOM just sent the picture the way it is.  It's beautiful."

When we received this picture it gave us chills for two reasons: (1) because it's so beautiful and thoughtful; and (2) because we did something similar.  We're not sure if you noticed, but the first picture we posted of "See Beautiful" in the rocks was missing a letter. See here:

It's missing a what? Yes, you're good spellers, it's missing a "U". Now, we write the world beautiful maybe 100 times a day, probably more. We know how to spell it. How we could have misspelled it in rocks is beyond us. BUT, when we received the email and picture from beautiful Goose, we got chills.

It's not about "I" and it's not about "U" - It's all about We. Us. Community. It's all about humanity empowering each other. It's all about making this world a better place for all. No "U", no "I", but we and us.

And that, our friends, is beautiful, any way you spell it!

Pay It Forward: You Can Kick Rocks OR...

...or you can send a message. 

When the opportunity presents itself, do you choose to see beautiful? Find beautiful? Create beautiful? Or, do you kick it to the curb? We're here hoping you see beautiful. Instead of kicking rocks, you can pay it forward and use them for good.

REWIND: About a month ago we were completely inspired by 14-year-old, Miranda, and her inspiration to write kindness in the sand. Miranda's grandmother, Sue, sent us the picture of See Beautiful in the sand and something special happened; we realized how simple it is to offer another person a smile by leaving a kind note in nature. It's so simple - the act of sharing a kind, loving message with others. See beautiful. You are loved. Thank you. Taking seconds out of our day, we can transform another person's completely.

This was from Miranda (full post featured HERE):

And then this wonderful portrayal of seeing beautiful rolled in from the beautiful Lindsay, at Our View from Wien (full post featured HERE):

Upon seeing this, beautifully talented Megan Silianoff at Greetings From Texas sent us this:

PRESENT MOMENT: And the snowball (or sandball) of seeing beautiful rolls onward, hopefully gaining momentum. These wonderful people who seek to share more beautiful in the world did so unprompted and from a wonderful place in their hearts. We believe this focus and kindness merits more than a simple blog post. It merits a standing "home" on our blog. It deserves great discussion from a bigger audience and a formal invitation to all to go create opportunities for others to see beautiful in nature.

Where can you leave a message that leaves others smiling? We created a new tab on See Beautiful (just look up to our tabs) where we'll add any picture you send us of the message "See Beautiful" left in nature (or somewhere more formal if you wish). If you have a link you'd like us to use to link back to you, include it in the email you send us with a photo of your kind note attached. How many places and ways can we leave a natural message to all to find more beautiful in themselves and the world?

Oh, goodie, goodie, gum drops! We can't wait to see all the ways beautiful people will leave beautiful messages! Speaking of gum drops...they'd be great for spelling...we just won't leave that message lying around in the woods.

Spell it anywhere. Share it anywhere. The more beautiful you see, the more beautiful others see.

*If you'd like to contribute a photo of your "See Beautiful" message, simply email the photo as an attachment to lcrissmays@seebeautiful.com If you have a link to a blog or website you'd like us to include to link back to you, please include that in the email.

Happy seeing beautiful!
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Are you looking for a tangible reminder to see beautiful, or know someone who needs one? Check out our See Beautiful™ products (and feel good knowing a portion of proceeds from every purchase is donated to charity. This month a portion of all proceeds will be donated to Somalia and American Funds for Education or S.A.F.E.). Click HERE.   

See Beautiful's Blog of the Month

We love sharing our See Beautiful's every month! Featuring goodies from children's books to flotation devices to pets, we are honored to bring opportunities to see beautiful to you. Enjoy our See Beautiful's blog of the month (always featured on our website)!

Melody Mae always leaves us seeing beautiful. A visit to her blog will leaving you smiling, laughing, thinking, inspired, and/or moved. It seems she's always sharing. It's simple and it's thoughtful. Sharing the kindness of the world, the goodness of others, and the lovely beautiful things in life, Melody Mae stops to notice them. She appreciates them. And then, so kindly, she shares them with fellow readers (or people who she no doubt deems) friends.







A skim of her blog labels gives you a feel for the warmth she offers others: beauty, blessed, books, coffee, devotions, faith, family, free, friendships, fun, gifts, grateful, happiness, home, hope, life, love, lovely, memories, poetry, praise, prayer, and one of our favorites, "shiny"...  The lovely labels go on and on. With the click of a mouse, you find more smiles creep across your face.

You often leave her blog a little less wound up, because in a thoughtful way, she's invited you to slow down and reflect. We love that. We see beautiful. We are thankful for the way she invites others to see beautiful.

Connecting with Melody Mae:

•  The Melody Mae BLOG itself (yay!)
• Melody Mae on PINTEREST
• Melody Mae's kind TWEETS

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Are you looking for a tangible reminder to see beautiful, or know someone who needs one? Check out our See Beautiful™ products (and feel good knowing a portion of proceeds from every purchase is donated to charity. This month a portion of all proceeds will be donated to Somalia and American Funds for Education or S.A.F.E.). Click HERE.