A Beginning of Beauty
Waking up in a space divergent from your own can be a wholly discombobulating experience. You wonder where your phone is, the light switch, why the sun is hitting your face at a certain angle, and generally why things are different. When the torpidity of sleep wears off with the administration of a shower or coffee, sometimes both, you suddenly become aware of your place.
My in-laws have a delightfully colourful residence, replete with many different artists’ takes on ordinary everyday objects, indigenous art from the many different places they’ve visited here in Canada, and a general joie de vivre composed with the ocean backdrop outside their backdoor. It’s an aesthetic between welcoming and wonderment, and when the sun’s in full strength, the radiance of the white walls against nature provides the perfect stage upon which to start the day.
You learn to look for the difference in beauty, a vase full of colourful tulips, for example, to fortify yourself for the challenges ahead. Their beauty sets a benchmark for the expectations of a day that, given previous resolutions, have promised an unmatched simplicity.
To be able to spend time with beauty before dealing with the inherent ugliness of the world outside your front door is often overlooked. We’re so intent on rushing headlong into the blinding light outside that we don’t gird ourselves up with the armour necessary to weather the inevitable arrows and spears.
Perhaps tulips aren’t necessarily your ode to beauty. Perhaps it’s found in the steaming cup of coffee consumed first thing. Perhaps it’s your partner’s sleep-dishevelled hair, complete with a snuffling nose and morning breath. Perhaps it’s just the simple act of breathing, perceiving, knowing that you’ve been granted a few more seconds to spin around the sun. Whatever finds its foundation in your soul, I hope you lean into it and embrace it as your day begins. Then, when the sun slips beyond the horizon and the moon begins her heavenward dance, you can reminisce about the beautiful moments that started your day and rest easy in night’s embrace.
May it ever be so.
