Beautiful Things

A Collection For My Mother

“Every day we should hear at least one little song, read one good poem, see one beautiful picture, and, if possible, speak a few sensible words.”

Goethe

If ever there was a to-do list worthy of our attention, this one might be it. Even if we don’t always realize it, beauty sustains us.

Imagine a life without it - no music to soothe or uplift you, no literature to stretch your mind, no pictures to sink into, no quiet recognition of the lovely in a person, a place, or a moment... I, for one, never want to know what that absence would feel like.

Instead, I’d rather lean in and make beauty a deliberate part of my life - a priority rather than an afterthought. This is a small attempt to do so - I hope it brightens your day as it has mine.

---

Pear Tree, Gustav Klimt 1903

My mind is an associative place, and when I see “green things,” I immediately think of this note by Hugh Prather. If you can, commit it to memory - the feeling it inspires is always a good one.

“If I had only...

forgotten future greatness

and looked at the green things

and reached out to those around me

and smelled the air

and ignored the self-styled obligations

and heard the rain on the roof

and put my arms around her

... it's not too late.”

---

If someone asked me, “What does daylight feel like?” - I’d know right away that the answer wasn’t meant for words. Rather than stumbling through an awkward explanation, I’d choose something simpler (and more elegant). I’d just turn to them, press play on this piece, and say, “it feels a little like this” - and they’d understand.

The same goes for sunrises and this little track:

---

Blue Dancers, Edgar Degas 1897

Of all artistic materials, oil pastels might be my favorite. They have a way of softening reality, of dissolving rigid lines into something more felt than seen.

There’s a dreaminess to them - with their soft edges and smudged brilliance. They blur, but in a way that glows. Even here, on dancers, they make me think of skies and clouds and landscapes. There’s movement, but also stillness. There’s energy, but also air.

When I read, I like ideas to arrive neatly articulated, dressed in clear sentences and free from unnecessary ambiguity. But in art, I appreciate a little veiling. As Oscar Wilde once said, “A mist makes things wonderful.”

---

Meigetsu-in Temple, Yasunari Nakamura 2014

Zen aesthetics deserve our attention for the way they elevate harmony. Its traditions teach us that true beauty isn’t found in flawlessness, but in the delicate balance between effort and acceptance, intention and chance.

There’s a story from the tea master Rikyū that I find equally charming and instructive:

One day Rikyū asked a disciple to clean his tea house, and the young boy worked all day to sweep and scrub every inch of the grounds. When Rikyū came to inspect it, he stood for a moment, then reached up and shook a maple tree, letting a few leaves drift down onto the path.

Now it was perfect.

Note: The key thing to remember is that Zen Buddhism has no concept of art existing for its own sake; every creation is an extension of its philosophy, and the goal is our enlightenment.

“By loving and appreciating a slightly messy scattering of leaves on a path, we are symbolically making peace with our imperfect natures… it invites us to a reconciliation with our true unvarnished human essence.”¹

---

This week was mother’s birthday, and when I think of her, I think of beautiful things. Words, as always, are too clumsy to capture what she means to me, but I’ll share this:

She was my first audience - the first person to make me feel that what I had to say was worth hearing. And no matter how far I ventured out, she was always there, ready to welcome me home and see if I brought back something interesting.

For anyone seeking to think independently, that inner security is everything. It gives you the courage to explore with a little less fear, and if you’re lucky enough to know a love like that, take a moment to fully feel it.

Te quiero, ma!

Me, at 2, rehearsing for a lifetime.

Our goodbyes before one of my greatest (and riskiest!) adventures.

---

Thank you for reading,

---

If today’s notes added a little light to your world, consider tapping the 💛 or sharing them with a friend. Even the smallest signals of connection are deeply encouraging.

1. Wabi Sabi, The School of Life