Appreciate and find the beauty of life

What is beauty? Beauty means many things to many people. Subscribers to the adage “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” value the multitude of the word, recognizing its physical, social, emotional and other manifestations.

This past Tuesday at a “Gather” conversation with Professor Corrie Grosse and peers at Milk and Honey I observed the mixture of these three revelations: a blood orange sunset, conversation budding with peers and toddlers grounding the audience through their organic interruptions to conversation.

For me, this evening was a reminder of life’s beauty and, moreover, the necessity to love life. Each day, beauty takes shape in physical forms such as budding flowers near Lake Sarah. Each day, beauty takes shape in social forms with culinary service employees sharing a meal over a lunch break. Each day, beauty takes shape in emotional forms as first-year students navigate new environments, unknowingly maturing through vulnerable times with lifelong friends.

It is evident that a sweeping assertion like this carries significant baggage. Rates of depression among young people indicate a hesitancy to fulfill these calls to happiness. Both internally through self-doubt, and externally with innumerable with societal pressures, the odds are stacked against young people in many ways.

This said, a more accessible message is the following: seek out opportunities to observe life’s beauty and love your life. Further, Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not one worth living,” and though it may lean fatalist, we ought to recognize the truth in this statement.

The examination of one’s thoughts, actions and subconscious state are essential efforts to pursuit. Moreover, I contend that exploring the beauty is central to this examination of self. Through these three physical, social and emotional—manifestations we better understand our identity and are better equipped for self-actualization.

Through intentional incorporation of life’s joy and beauty into each day, we can learn to love it. Consistent, incremental efforts pursuant to love are crucial components of a good life. Appreciating beauty and loving life can be hard. However, this challenge should be in the foreground of our minds.

Theodore Roosevelt said, “Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty… I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life. I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well.”

Though leisure provides significant relevance to stability, we ought to grasp the necessity to endure challenging times to lead a good life. We must seek out opportunities to observe life’s beauty and love our lives. These incremental steps forward—no matter how big or small, no matter how hard or easy, no matter how immediate or long term—are worth taking.