Mindfulness and beauty

This week I started reading the book Why Buddhism is True as I’m taking my baby steps in learning and understanding Buddhism concepts and philosophy and how it relates to everything I learned about mindfulness, spirituality, and meditation. Today I read about how one of the benefits of mindfulness meditation is an appreciation of beauty. This stood out to me because it’s something I’ve been noticing about myself in the past year and a half and one that I’m still surprised by myself.

It feels like a quality that’s hard to describe to someone. In addition to just being able to enjoy new kinds of music, and art (while being able to create art myself) I have been able to significantly improve the ability to see beauty in the simple things in life. For example, on the walk from my subway to my doorstep, I am more aware than ever of the lush green life on the sidewalks and the different types of patterns their leaves form. I start to notice the little details that people wear to express themselves. I’ve been able to admire the delicate beauty of my cat on a daily basis. Generally, the world just looks like a very beautiful place and I’m reminded that I don’t need to travel the world to see beauty.

Onward!