A Gift for You: On Beauty
A little something during this liminal time to bring with you into the new year, with my thanks; two posts from my archive, on beauty.
The two posts below are from early in this newsletter, with my thanks and appreciation for your support as a subscriber here. The first is about the book, On Beauty and Being Just by Elaine Scarry and the second is on the classic, The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupéry. If you joined in recent months you may not have read these posts. Even if you did read them initially I don’t think we can have too many reminders to pay attention, to see beauty in our everyday. I hope you agree.
Through the writing of this newsletter, which I began over a year ago, I have learned much, deepened my appreciation of the deceptively simple daily practice of noticing beauty and writing it down1and discovering from some great writers and thinkers how many, many facets there are to beauty. It’s helped me know (again!) that yes, writing changes lives and I hope I have succeeded in conveying at least some of that to you my readers.
The comments below are open and I would love to hear your thoughts. I’m looking forward to continuing this exploration through 2024 and I’m very glad of your company. Thank you again.
WEATHER REPORT: 'On Beauty'
She writes of brushing down some garden brick and then a tiny triangle, a moth unseen until now, rises and flutters in the air. She asks, 'Why does this tiny fragment of flying brick-color stop your heart?' Quoting Simone Weil, she writes that these noticings of beauty, ' act like small tears in the surface of the world that pull us through to some vaster space.'
Weather Report: On Beauty
He is discouraged and simply withdraws from being overtly imaginative and creative and grows to become a ‘sensible’ adult as is required. But, significantly, he has always kept his Drawing Number One, his creative capacity, in case he meets even one adult who understands and is receptive.
Happy New Year Margaret! 💚