“Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.” -Confucius

As I wrote in Monday’s post, The Sowul Commandments, I am trying something new with the blog: a monthly focus for my mental energy, with the intent to inspire my writing. My focus for May will be BEAUTY. (If you need a reminder, see the new graphic on the sidebar!)

(Another reiteration of Monday’s post: if any bloggers are interested in writing a guest post about beauty for the end of May, I’d be interested to hear your ideas; in particular, I’m interested in doing a guest-post exchange. Send your ideas to leannesowul@gmail.com.)

I chose beauty for a few reasons:

First, “Seeking Beauty” is one of my personal commandments, but not something I practice as regularly as “maintaining gratitude” or “accepting what can’t be changed.” I’d like to make “seeking beauty” a habit.

Second, it’s May, and where I live, May is one of the prettiest months of the year. The trees and flowers bloom, birds come home to roost, the weather is generally not too hot or too cold. Sunshine comes out to play. Spring is in the air, but so is the taste of summer. It’s a great month to be outdoors, and I want enjoying outdoor beauty to be a big part of my focus.

Third, beauty can be a very “loaded” word in American culture. It’s often used to refer to impossible standards to which average women can’t possibly attain. Yet beauty can also refer to admirable inner qualities. I’d like to explore that idea this month, to find the beauty behind the beauty, so to speak.

And fourth, I’d like to explore what beauty means to me: what I think makes me beautiful, what makes my home beautiful, and how beauty can make me feel happier.

What does the word “beauty” mean to you? Does it spark emotions, good or bad? If you were to focus on beauty for a month, how would it affect your daily life, your thoughts, your mood?