Ultimately, beyond the professional and personal goals that we set for ourselves, what each of us really wants is a beautiful life.\u00a0 The type of life I am talking about isn\u2019t the lifestyle that we see in commercials.\u00a0 It isn\u2019t about owning overpriced purses, driving high end cars or having perfect bodies.\u00a0 It has nothing to do with wealth.<\/p>\n
Having a beautiful life is about how<\/em> we enjoy what God has given us.\u00a0\u00a0 It is about the choices that we make with regard to our food, clothing, shelter and free time.\u00a0 Do we grab a burger from a fast food restaurant, or do we make a summer salad?\u00a0 Do we watch television, or do we go outside and look at the stars?\u00a0 Do we daily choose beauty over the mundane?<\/p>\n The description of what constitutes a beautiful life is different for every person.\u00a0 However, there are certain common things that each of us needs each day so that our lives are more than work and laundry.\u00a0 To that end, here are some things that each of us can do to create a beautiful life.<\/p>\n Music<\/strong>: If there is anything that feeds the soul, it is music.\u00a0 I love all kinds \u2013 classical, jazz, pop, R&B, the old standards, big band, Christian rock \u2013 you name it, and there are certain musicians in each genre that I particularly enjoy.\u00a0 Music should mentally transport us to a beautiful place, and top notch music has the ability to bring us peace when we are frustrated.\u00a0 Every day try to listen to music that you love.\u00a0 If you are a musician, even better – make music! – but have it in some way be part of your daily experience.<\/p>\n Nature<\/strong>: Whether you live in the country, the suburbs or the city, there are opportunities to experience nature.\u00a0 I live in the suburbs and am married to a man who loves to garden.\u00a0 As a result, we spend our weekends tending to the flowers, plants and bushes that make our yard more pleasing to the eye.\u00a0 This past month, my daughter and I cleared a path through our woods, and walking on it is simply magical.\u00a0 There is something very special about creating beauty in nature.\u00a0 Nature is already beautiful, but adding to it with your own hands and then enjoying the fruits of your labor is rewarding in a way that folding laundry is not.<\/p>\n Food<\/strong>:\u00a0 My observation over the years is that a large part of our happiness relates to what we eat.\u00a0 Food doesn\u2019t just feed our bodies.\u00a0 Tasty, healthy, creatively prepared food makes us feel good mentally.\u00a0 Our standard of living seems to increase when we have beautiful meals.\u00a0 It matters little where we eat the food – in a modest home or a mansion \u2013 what matters is the quality of the food.\u00a0 Regularly making beautiful meals is an easy way to take your lifestyle up a notch.<\/p>\n Home<\/strong>:\u00a0\u00a0We all need to have a place where we can rest, and where we feel good about inviting people over to socialize.\u00a0 You can\u2019t enjoy your home, and you won\u2019t want people to come over, if your home is a mess.\u00a0 The first step to creating a beautiful space is simply to clear out the junk and organize your belongings.\u00a0 Where you live should be beautiful.\u00a0 It isn\u2019t about having an expensive home.\u00a0 I\u2019ve been in enormous houses that have been a train wreck of clutter, and I\u2019ve been in tiny apartments that have been carefully decorated and have perfect ambience.\u00a0 Make your home, whatever its size, a place that you not only want to be in, but that you would want to invite others to enjoy as well.<\/p>\n Literature<\/strong>:\u00a0 The pleasure of reading should be part of every person\u2019s daily experience.\u00a0 I personally don\u2019t know what I would do without books.\u00a0 I look to books for guidance.\u00a0 I read a book when I want to be transported to another world.\u00a0 There is nothing that calms me like sitting in a quiet place to read.\u00a0 It is sad that so often as children we are turned off from reading because\u00a0our schools choose books that have little or no interest to kids.\u00a0 I myself did not learn to enjoy reading in school.\u00a0 Instead, when I was working during law school, I had a boss who loaned me one amazing book after another.\u00a0 Thanks to him, I found a love of books that will never leave me.<\/p>\n A friend of mine recently sent me the following quote by Goethe:\u00a0 \u201cEvery day we should hear at least one little song, read one good poem, see one exquisite picture, and, if possible, speak a few sensible words.\u201d\u00a0 Even in the 1700s, people were thinking about what it means to live the beautiful life. \u00a0Take time this week to think about some ways that you can begin adding beauty to your own life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ultimately, beyond the professional and personal goals that we set for ourselves, what each of us really wants is a beautiful life.\u00a0 The type of life I am talking about isn\u2019t the lifestyle that we see in commercials.\u00a0 It isn\u2019t about owning overpriced purses, driving high end cars or having perfect bodies.\u00a0 It has nothing…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":593,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n