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It’s a dark and rainy almost-winter day where I am 🙂 Not what would typically be called a beautiful day by most.
But that’s the whole point of this post. Seeing things differently, seeing beyond appearances is a life skill worth developing.
Many of us start our day with a dose of daily news. And there’s certainly a lot to keep up with. I am all for staying informed. The problem comes when all the worldly goings on suck the joy out of your day. Blind you to the beauty of the world.
It’s really easy to get pulled into the drama. I know. I’ve been drawn in!
There’s a phrase that I thought was from the Bible, but I could not find it to give a direct quote. The phrase is this: Be in the world but not of the world.
To me this means to maintain a sense of detachment, a spiritual or big picture perspective, of world events.
I honed my ability to detach, in large part, during my 10 years as an ER nurse. In an emergency, as a medical provider, you can’t afford to get caught up in the situation before you and still think calmly to do what is needed.
So many scripture snippets and quotes seek to share this wisdom. Here are two of my favorites:
Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.
John 7:24 New American Standard Bible
And this one from one of the early followers of Transcendentalism, Henry David Thoreau:
It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.
I liked that one so much I put it on a mug 🙂
So when I first heard Peter Mayer’s song, The Beauty of the World, I loved it (as I do most of his music :))! It captures the message of this post quite well–and, thus I have included the lyrics and an YT audio version of the song below for your inspiration and enjoyment 🙂
Explore other pages of my site for further discussions of the importance of your perspective. And also check out the 30 Days Happiness Challenge–a project I have been working on to help reach more people and help them improve “what they see” in their lives 🙂
THE BEAUTY OF THE WORLD
If you look to the daily news
So that you can stay attuned to what matters
You might find that headlines
Don’t describe the beauty of the world
So if you hang your head straight out of bed
Because you read the doom and gloom and got discouraged
Ignore your computer screen
And look to see the beauty of the world
Beauty like the sun coming down
Beauty like a seed in the ground
Rising and reaching out, reaching for the sky
Beauty like the life in the land
Moving in your own two hands
Beauty like the wondrous chance to be alive
If you’re down to your final dime and can’t decide
What else to buy to be happy
You don’t need a credit card to give your heart
The beauty of the world
And if you walk the street with tired feet
Bending underneath the grief that you carry
Lay the weight you brought along down upon
The beauty of the world
Beauty like the wind in the trees
Beauty like children’s dreams
Beauty like the sound of steeple bells when they ring
Beauty like ties that bind us
Beauty like acts of kindness
Beauty like the light inside of everything
If your whole shtick is tragic hip
But you are sick of being such a big cynic
You can try out a joyful shout and sing about
The beauty of the world
And if you don’t like to have to wait
And think your chances aren’t great to get to Heaven
Maybe one way to save your soul is get to know
The beauty of the world
Get to know the beauty of the world
Get to know the beauty of the world
This is just Pete and his guitar (not the version on his CD)–this is how he performs in person…it’s good stuff 🙂
