101 Ways to Add More Beauty to Your Life – Part 3…

23 Sunday Jan 2011

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© Joan Currie - Stanford University

Continued…

68. Take a class at an art, architecture, or design school.
69. Skip a stone.
70. Sing a camp fire song.
71. Send good wishes to someone in ill health.
72. Take a self-portrait.
73. Hug your loved ones.
74. Sing in the car.
75. Watch a fountain.
76. Look up the origin of words.
77. Greet passersby with a hello and a smile.
78. Post children’s art in your home – you may even rediscover your own schoolwork.
79. Reconnect with a former classmate.
80. Attend birthday parties.
81. Learn how to snowshoe.
82. Fly high in a hot air balloon, glider, or small plane.
83. Teach a child how to bake a cake.
84. Give a massage.
85. Have a picnic.
86. Watch all Academy Award Best Picture nominees for the current year.
87. Indulge in a bubble bath.
88. Sleep under an eiderdown.
89. Use fabric napkins.
90. Attend book readings at your local bookstore or library.
91. Host a family celebration.
92. Become a possibilities thinker.
93. Watch a moonrise or eclipse.
94. Assist someone who is disabled.
95. Grow a vegetable or herb from seed.
96. Watch Cirque du Soleil.
97. Try yoga.
98. Perform an act of courage.
99.  Roast marshmallows over an open fire.
100. Become the person you always wanted to be.
101. Wish upon a star!

I would love to know what you would add to this list!

101 Ways to Add More Beauty to Your Life – Part 2…

23 Sunday Jan 2011

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© Lydia Hudgens

Continued...

34. Travel to a foreign land.
35. Buy flowers from a farmers market.
36. Stargaze.
37. Create a family tree.
38. Taste exotic fruit.
39. Buy a painting from an art school.
40. Make a cat purr.
41. Learn a few phrases in a foreign language.
42. Visit a cathedral with stained glass windows.
43. Watch a sunrise.
44. Read to a child.
45. Learn to play a musical instrument.
46. Ride a horse.
47. Laugh out loud.
48. Snuggle.
49. Wear your best watch or jewelry.
50. Cry at movies.
51. Display your treasures and collections.
52. Listen to Puccini, Tchaikovsky, or Chopin.
53. Wear cowboy boots.
54. Ride in a fast boat.
55. Watch Masterpiece Theater.
56. Notice your city or town’s architecture.
57. Say “Yes” more often.
58. Listen to a new music genre.
59. Learn a limerick.
60. Buy fine cotton or silk sheets.
61. Write with a different color ink.
62. Visit a National Forest.
63. Buy or make new sofa cushions.
64. Learn to skin and/or scuba dive.
65. Greet your baristas by name.
66. Buy balloons.
67. Believe in miracles.

To be continued…

103 Ways to Add More Beauty to Your Life…

22 Saturday Jan 2011

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© Joan Currie - Capitola State Beach

Part 1.

1.  Watch a sunset – see the green flash.
2.  Admire rainbows, jet streams, and beautiful cloud formations.
3.  Look through a kaleidoscope.
4.  Use your “good” china and silverware.
5.  Take a road trip.
6.  Decorate a birthday cake.
7.  Blow bubbles in the sunlight.
8.  Examine a postage stamp, dollar bill, or coin through a magnifying glass.
9.  Buy a bird feeder or bird bath.
10. Walk in the woods.
11. Drive in a convertible with the top down.
12. Visit a planetarium, aquarium. or zoo.
13. Learn calligraphy.
14. Hold a baby.
15. Place photos of you and your loved ones at your happiest around your home.
16. Go to the ballet, opera, or theatre.
17. Create a secret garden.
18. Learn to dance the cha cha, tango, samba, waltz, or swing.
19. Read poetry.
20. Spend time with an octogenarian, nonagenarian, or centenarian.
21. Wear something red.
22. Light candles.
23. Ride a zip line, climb a wall, or jump on a trampoline.
24. Make a snow angel.
25. Visit an art museum or gallery.
26. Play catch with a dog.
27. Doodle.
28. Watch fireworks.
29. Paint one wall in your home your favorite color.
30. Volunteer.
31. Buy a couple of goldfish.
32. Forgive past wrongs.
33. Say “I love you!” more often.

To be continued…

Name it, claim it…

20 Thursday Jan 2011

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© Lydia Hudgens

You are not beautiful because I looked at your body, but because I looked into your eyes and I saw what was in your heart. – Anonymous

Several years ago I worked in a health care office. The receptionist was an older woman who had been employed by the group for over twenty years and nearing retirement. Life had dealt her some tough cards and although she performed her administrative tasks well, she had a sour disposition that seemed to infect the entire work environment and everyone who came into contact with her.

One day, a young, new hire named Rob arrived and although she introduced herself to him as Phyllis, he always addressed her as Beautiful. Over the next several weeks, we noticed that whenever Rob appeared, her eyes sparkled and she could not hold back a smile. She was reclaiming the beautiful woman that she had been all along – she just needed a nudge to push her true self out into the open again.

In time, Phyllis sported a new hairdo, applied a little make-up, and even spruced up her wardrobe. Her new-found happiness with her body image spilled over to her relationships with co-workers and clients. Life was good again.

Rob saw the beauty in Phyllis that we did not, but how hard would it have been for us to do the same? Is there someone in your life you can help in a similar way? It is never to late to make a difference.

Model – Lauren DiMarco

Looking inside: Nautilus…

15 Saturday Jan 2011

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© Joan Currie

The greatest explorer on this earth never takes voyages as long as those of the man who descends to the depth of his heart.  ~Julien Green

My mother has an impressive shell collection from her travels around the globe. My favorite shell is the Nautilus, half of which is pictured above. I like the way its mother-of-pearl, chambered interior is surprisingly far more beautiful than its exterior.

I started thinking about my other favorite things that also have lovelier insides such as; pomegranates and exotic fruits, amethyst and agate geodes, stalactite and glow worm caves, chestnuts, bees’ nests, eggs, secret gardens, coral reefs, cathedrals with stained glass windows, kaleidoscopes and telescopes, Russian dolls, and jewelry and music boxes.

I know many people, too, who on first meeting may appear gruff or cantankerous, but are really among the sweetest and gentlest people with hearts of gold once you get to know them.