The other day, I noticed a major shift that had happened in the last six months – something I wasn’t expecting. I had become more productive than I had ever been before, and the only thing I had consciously done was choose to fill my life with more beauty.
Beauty feeds my soul and leads me to expect more out of life, helps me choose my tasks more wisely, and think more creatively about the tasks that need to be done.
As I write this, my little one is 9 months old. When he was 12 weeks old, I realised my life needed to change. In order to be the best mother I could become, I needed as much energy as possible. When I surveyed what gave me energy, I saw it was things of beauty.
I reflected on the times I have experienced true beauty. I found myself looking back on some epic novels and weekends with friends by the sea or long hikes in the woods. I thought about being in the presence of pieces of art at the Tate Modern that shifted the core of my being, or when I stepped into the middle of a mammoth Richard Sera sculpture.
I reflected on the stretches of time when I was experiencing heightened creativity and productivity, and I wasn’t surprised when I discovered that, during those times, I was in beautiful places. Over a three-week stretch around Christmas five years ago, I wrote an entire book while looking at an ocean vista. I crafted entire programmes while tucked away in a mountain cottage. Even as I think now about those times, my body relaxes, and my mind focuses.
In my most productive moments, there was no time blocking or budgeting, as so many articles on productivity would recommend. In the last 6 months, there was a little bit of prayer and a lot of intention.
It started with a two-part process: 1. Let what is not beautiful fall away, and 2. Replace the mundane with an abundance of beauty.
What Needed to Be Edited From My Life? I set out to be the beauty editor of my own life. What in my life was feeding me, and what was sucking me dry? I saw how I had let the world creep in and influence me where I didn’t expect it. My days felt like walking through a narrow hallway with obstacles I had to manoeuvre around. It was exhausting.
I noticed how easy it was to get pulled into a daily news cycle that never seemed to stop for air. One daily news update was enough to keep me up-to-date. Something similar happened with social media. I asked myself: What had I encountered on my feed over a week that I could have not lived without? As I thought about it, I saw there was nothing that truly fed me on my social media accounts. Even in the TV series I was watching, I noticed how what was meant to be entertainment put me on an emotional rollercoaster.
The editing process was swift and effective. Soon my days felt less like a narrow hallway and more like walking into a wide empty ballroom. Then, it was up to me to decorate the room as I desired.
What Beautiful Activities Can I Include in My Day? I looked to see how I could replicate those times in my life that were full of beauty. I began taking morning walks in the woods with the little one and sought out things of beauty and delighted in them. We didn’t hurry through these walks on most days and often took time to linger and listen to the rapids in the river.
Once a week, I carved out time to watercolour some of the things I had seen on our walks and that created gifts to share with others. We intentionally brought music and dancing into the house, and the baby started to recognise pieces like Handel’s Messiah. To this day, when the “Hallelujah Chorus” starts, he begins to move around his hands like he’s conducting the orchestra.
With even minor changes, an effective change took place.
What Tasks Need Beautiful Inspiration? I became acutely aware that things of beauty not only inspired me but also focused me and gave me fuel for the major tasks I needed to get done. I began to choose everything around me more carefully. I sought to clarify and re-clarify my goals and dreams and what steps I needed to take to get there.
Too many times I had tried to be too many roles for too many people. I knew that if I continued, no amount of beautiful inspiration would reverse the feelings of being depleted. My dreams, and my steps towards those dreams, took on a beautiful life of their own.
Choosing beauty not only fed my soul, but it also fed my time.
If you want to fill your life with more beauty and see what benefits it will give you, please find the “Choose Beauty | Reflection & Inspiration” tool below.
