Make Time and Space to Notice the Lovely
What makes a lovely life?
A decorator may lead you to believe that a lovely life is created from the things that put in your house, or the paint color that you choose. Television commercials and magazine ads remind you that you can live a lovely life if you buy the right things.
Luckily, you are reading this today to remember that a lovely life is not defined by what you put on your counter-top, or even what you don’t, but by what you create and by recognizing the true beauty. You make beautiful things that define your life.
Of course, you already know that beautiful things aren’t usually things at all.
Beautiful things include …
- Sun salutations
- Friendships
- Big ideas
- Long meals
- Leisurely walks
- New recipes
- Daydreams
- Snowflakes
- Light-bulb moments
- Possibilities
- Celebrating a friend’s new project
- Music that moves you
- Inspiration
- Innovation
- Naps
Your list of beauty and lovely might be different, but taking time to recognize it is so important. The easiest way to do that is to make time and space to notice the lovely in your life. When you recognize what you love, you can create more of it and learn to fully immerse yourself in beauty each day.
How to create time and space
- get rid of the unlovely things in your life
- schedule fewer appointments
- linger
- be open to change
- check email less frequently
- ask for help
When you start to focus on real beauty instead of superficial distractions, you will begin to live a more meaningful life. Remember to pay attention to the moments in the middle, and be aware of how your beauty and contributions impact others, and change the world.
Wilson Bentley lived a lovely life, even though most people didn’t know about it until years after his death.
“Under the microscope, I found that snowflakes were miracles of beauty; and it seemed a shame that this beauty should not be seen and appreciated by others. Every crystal was a masterpiece of design and no one design was ever repeated., When a snowflake melted, that design was forever lost. Just that much beauty was gone, without leaving any record behind.” - Wilson “Snowflake” Bentley 1925
Bentley, better known as The Snowflake Man photographed more than 5000 snowflakes. He combined a camera and a microscope, and being very careful not to melt the snowflake with his breath, captured it on film. He became the first person to photograph a single snow crystal in 1885. He found the beauty in something as simple and available as a snowflake and made it his life’s passion. Because of him, we know that no 2 snowflakes are alike.
When you wake up to what is real and lovely about your life, powerful things start to happen. Your loveliness inspires others to live a more lovely life. In fact, there are lovely things happening in your life that other’s don’t even know about, even though they are going on in their lives too. Sometimes, because we are so busy and distracted, we overlook the simplest, beautiful things.
Inspire me and readers of today’s post by sharing the things in your life that make your heart swell. What are they? What is lovely in your life?
Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, please subscribe to Be More with Less & share on twitter.
37 Responses to “Make Time and Space to Notice the Lovely”
Comments
Read below or add a comment...
please comment
subscribe your way …
We recently removed cable TV from our lives and I love the time it has given us. At night time, after work, we cook and then go for a walk, read, we even play games or have time to clean the house. My husband and I find that this has given us more time to talk and appreciate each other presence.
Kourtney, Dumping Cable was a huge change in our lives too. I’ll never go back!
I hope I never go back either! Its so nice to not have a cable bill every month.
The lovely life. I have found it here in Hawaii. It comes in all the moments. Time I spend with my dogs. Going to the beach. Paddling and swimming in the ocean. Friends come to visit us here; we have the time to make wonderful wholesome dinners, talk, find out what is going on with them, listen.
Connection with my older sister who also came to visit in Hawaii. Finding the space to let go of anxiety. Reading a book with the sun shining on me. The practice of spreading illuminating light all around me and others in my mind. It comes to be not imaginary but for real.
Aloha wags.
LOVE your blog!! Love the mini-missions!!
Thanks Meredith!
Jt, there is plenty of beauty to be found in Hawaii, but I love that you intentionally seek out the lovely. You are an inspiration!
My latest bit of loveliness was attending a Christmas craft show in Toronto last weekend. Just walking in the door raised my spirits and then seeing all the lovely things on display made me happy. I didn’t buy much and only things that brought me joy. I was hemming and hawing about attending, but I’m so glad I did because I felt better all day.
Gillian, I’m so glad you went. I felt that way about 6am yoga today. I wasn’t so excited about getting out of bed at 5 and braving the cold, but 5 minutes into class, I knew I made the right decision.
Evening cuddles from our littles. Gardening in the rain. Watching our chooks scratch in the dirt. Waking on a sunny Saturday morning with the whole weekend in front of us. Sharing a drink with my parents. Hearing our daughter say “I love you” completely unbidden. Friday night family movie night.
Loveliness abounds – thank you for the reminder to look for it!
Loveliness abounds indeed. Thanks for sharing a little bit of bliss.
I agree consumerism can distract you from many wonderful things. However, taking the time (and expense) to make my home and yard beautiful so that I am surrounded by beauty has been worth it for me. Beauty, whether natural or man-made, is still beauty.
Mark, That is very true, and how that looks is different for everyone. I’ve found that less stuff and decor in my house makes me happy and more aware of what is most important to me.
That said, I have some paintings hanging that make me smile whenever I walk into the room.
Some loveliness in my life lately has been my growing friendship with my roommate, she has officially become my best friend and I love being 100% myself with her. Other lovelies: coffee at 4 pm, cooking dinner with all 3 of my roomies, lingering hugs, getting better at yoga (my heels touched the mat for the first time doing down dog on my last day of class this semester), taking chances, knitting, my pet fish Romeo and how excited he gets whenever i walk by, reading inspirational ebooks, 4 christmas parties in one week, being able to lead a group of middle school girls, close friendships as I go through a hardship in life, long road trips with my childhood best friend, christmas cookies, and taking pictures of everyday life!
add to that spontaneous dance parties with roommates!
Hot chocolate, a good book, and my puppy curled up at my feet is the loveliness in my life right now. Other lovelies: an uninterrupted evening with my husband, a good cup of coffee in the morning, inviting friends over for dinner, enlightening conversations, and weekends with my mom. I really had to stop and think about these, but I’m so glad I did. Thank you!
puppies are always lovely.
Right now, the biggest lovely is my two year old daughter sitting down in front of our little hodge podge Christmas tree, patting the floor next to her and saying “Mommy, sit it,” and once I sit down, her saying “Christmas tree!” and proceeding to describe the ornaments to me and point out all the blue (the one color she knows without hesitation) lights. It’s magical to see life unfold from her eyes.
Kate, My daughter is 16 now, but those 2 year old moments are forever etched in my heart. Enjoy … they go fast.
Wrapping my hands around a nice cup of tea. Good raspberry jam on toast. Dancing salsa. Having a good long chat with friends. Walking a lot. Reading a good book. Singing. Releasing the past and softening my heart. Pictures of my friend’s new puppy “Luigi”, soo cute!
Lazy days in Byron Bay. Swimming in the sea.
Lazy days? Swimming in the sea? Yes please!
Thank you for opening my heart. I’m craving the lovely. I’m pretty tired of clutter, and anger. Pray for me that what I’ve messed up in my life will come back to me with an open mind.
Katrina, they will come back but maybe not in the way you expect. Be open to change and joy and don’t rush it. I’m praying.
My beloved book collection. The words nestled in those pages that serve as a compass in my life, helping me to be the best version of myself.
Witnessing my son learn to read.
That makes my heart swell.
Lovely blog post, so perfect for this time of year.
Thank you.
April, watching your son learn to read, especially because you love to read so much must be an amazing experience.
I notice the beauty of my family each evening when we all get home and the kids tell us about their days, we make dinner, complete homework, practice violin, talk together, and then tuck them into warm beds. My husband and I then have quiet time to share our days and unwind together by the fire. The warmth and love at home each night is beautiful and I look forward to its loveliness all day long…
Living a modern life in an ancient city, in Italy, surrounded every day by magnificent medieval buildings, with a gorgeous architecture and many surprising details… makes my life more than lovely. I feel like living in a huge museum and even the trip at the post office can be exciting. I don’t even need a car, I can ride my bike through history every day. Anger doesn’t last if you’re enjoing something.
Unfortunately, most of the people are not able to enjoy all of this.
I must thank bloggers like you and Leo if I am able to see that a city is more than shops, traffic, crodws. I used to look at the stuff in the shops, now I get into the shops just to watch the frescoes and stuccoes on the ceilings. And smile.
Thank you so much Courtney!
What makes my heart swell?
Long chat with my best friend, love words from my soul mate, running along the water, bathing in the cold water of the North or Baltic Sea, marveling at the clouds and blue sky, feeling the wind on my face, smelling roses, listening to piano played by Ludovico Einaudi, getting lost in a pine forest, walking barefoot on a wet grassland and cuddling with my cats.
This post made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside!!!
The lovely: new friendships that feel like old ones, love, the last of the fall leaves, waking up smiling, falling asleep smiling, drinking tea, crow pose, writing, caring and sharing…
Thank you for posting this!
Lovely is really all around us at all times,
Tali
My two year old snuggled in my lap as I sip hot chai in front of the fire. Watching the sun set and the alpenglow light up Pikes Peak with a full moon overhead. Cuddling with all three kids in bed and lingering a little longer than my schedule says I should. Being away from my husband even for an afternoon and realizing how lucky I am that he’s in my life. Practicing yoga in the afternoon undisturbed (a rarity in my house).
Thank you for the reminder to notice!
Yesterday, I woke up to the most beautiful winter wonderland you could imagine! Heavy fog during the night had frozen onto every tree and surface, covering everything in a heavy, sparkly white frost. I am so thankful that I had the presence of mind to stop and really take a look at it. Being mindful is something I work on every day (some days I’m better than others!)and when I am, I am always blown away by what an impact noticing the simple things really has on me. Here’s to remembering to make more time and space to notice the lovely!
Hi there,
Yes, I love the Snowflake Bentley book. I was privileged to take a workshop with Jacqueline Briggs Martin who wrote the book. She is a lovely person who is able to see the beauty in simple things, like snowflakes. I own an autographed copy of the book, which is one of my simple treasures.
Thank you for your posting. I may link to it on my blog because I’m doing a series on how people who are grieving or are trauma survivors deal with the overwhelm of the holiday season. But anyone can be overwhelmed and sad about what the holiday season has become. One of my happiest Christmas’s ever was spent in the Yukon – where I used to live. We cut our own Christmas tree, had minimal gifts, and spent a lot of time playing Scrabble by our woodstove.
I love waking up without an alarm, laying in bed and listening to the birds.
Also being home when my children come home from school.
Working from home and gazing at my flower beds when I speak to clients on the phone.
Thx Courtney
Living in London where it’s always raining & cloudy…..there’s not much lovely to notice.
But just the other day I found myself looking out of my window just watching the sun set and trees slightly blowing in the wind and singing a song as the leafs dance across each other.
I was stuck there, a moment of attraction. Nature just said hey…you there take notice.
Im finding more still moments for myself, these moments are so powerful.