As often happens when we’re lying in bed, he asked me for homework.
In the quiet darkness, a smile washed across my face and I closed my eyes. I softened my mind and laid my left hand on my chest, deepening into my heart for a few breaths. I then placed my right hand on his chest and listened to the silence. In a moment, I heard the word “beauty”.
Beauty isn’t looked at, it’s seen. {tweet}
Years ago, when I worked in New York City, I would ride the train to my office every morning. One day, as I walked up the stairs to exit the subway, I noticed that I was taking my first full breath in an hour.
Being sensitive to energy, sounds and smells, my daily hurried, harried and at-times scary commute had me pulling my energy very close to my body – “sucking it up” to get through the subway ride.
When I realized this, I knew that spending an hour of my day as small and tight and dim as possible was not the way I wanted to live my life.
I wanted my life to be filled with beauty.
I knew that beauty would invite me right into the heart of my sensitivity, rather than numb me from it, and give me a richer and fuller experience of life…even on the subway trains of New York City.
To experience beauty is to be transported into our hearts. {tweet}
Beauty isn’t just seen, it’s felt.
Yes, beauty would be his homework.
“Your life is so rich and full”, I started, “it’s easy to get bound-up and tense, and lose sight of the beauty of life.
So once a day this week, I want you to choose something or someone that you find it difficult to see the beauty in and spend 3 minutes really seeing them. Take them in fully, observing them through the lens of what’s beautiful. If at any moment you find yourself being critical, go back to what’s beautiful. Look deeply and care-fully.
I find it easiest if I first imagine them as a newborn little thing. The precious perfection. You can’t help but fall in love.”
To receive beauty is to fall in love.
This simple practice of falling in love with strangers on the New York City subway changed my life, and even if we never made eye-contact, perhaps in some small way it changed theirs too.
—> In the comments below, I would love to connect with you. Are you willing to dive into the heart of your sensitivity and connect with beauty in this simple yet profound way? All it will take is 3 minutes today.
Nisha, your blogs fill my heart and head with wondrous conversations and I look forward to your name in my inbox every week! Thank you for the juicy soul food. This blog in particular instilled a beauty seeking mission in me as I say goodbye to something super huge tomorrow, leaving the Broadway tour of a musical I’ve been doing since September to plant myself in NY for the next big thing. I can pretty much do this show in my sleep, but tomorrow, I want to be completely ALIVE! I want to soak it all in through beauty’s lenses, connecting with my cast mates in kinetic, loving, and silent ways, allow the music to shock and move me, lines and lyrics and to hit me like never before, and my performance to be ferociously present. Whats really beautiful about my show? I’ll let my heart answer tomorrow <3
PS I love the image included! I'm wrapping up my tour in Tokyo, Japan and am just amazed by this hustling, bustling empire and culture!! <3
I never realized that I’ve been making myself “small” when I ride the subway too. No more! I’m ready to live out loud. And seeing beauty in others is often a reflection of how much beauty I can see in me. You know, appreciating the little things about myself and allowing myself to make me smile. Thanks for the reminder to see beauty, Nisha! xx Ritu
I’m sitting in a small, cramped office space, windows drawn (at my day job), and I was for a hyperventilated moment, frantic about losing touch with motivation and my core self– a connection I know that I have in full when I am in a space of trust– but I have a tendency to intellectualize these experiences. In response, I took the time to step away and journal briefly about what reminds me of who I am…
My love of beauty appeared on the page and made my heart swell with remembrance.
Just afterwards, I was seeking like-hearted inspiration (and validation) and found myself going straight for blog and found this post. It made me feel even better.
Thank you, Nisha, for being you and sharing that essence with the world. I see you!
I’m glad you enjoyed your haydiols, Spyridoula!!! And that you were in the mountains too! The landscape looks a bit like my mountains here in the Alps!Happy Autumn to you too!!!Filakia!