Beauty draws more beauty onto itself.

They don’t tell us this when we’re teenagers pouring over Seventeen Magazine and longingly watching our friend’s older sisters dress as adults and wear make up.  We grow up dressing our Barbie’s and later, experimenting with our mother’s  make up and dousing ourselves with Love’s Baby Soft or Jennifer Lopez’s latest scent.

We come to age pinching our faces in our light up make-up mirrors and then later, once we reach adulthood; layer on the anti-aging creams before bedtime.

The biggest beauty secret they keep from us?  Beauty begets beauty.  The most beautiful people in the world appreciate the beauty of others and the beauty of the world.

Have you ever witnessed someone so completely immersed in the simple beauty of a piece of art, a bouquet of flowers or a landscape?   There is a sensual aura that surrounds them and they seem to glow from within the depths of their heart.  Perhaps the uninhibited rapture of a child completely intrigued with a puppy will jog your memory:  eyes lit from the inside, pure pleasure shining out from their smile and their face glowing with joy.

We’ve all met an elderly person whose eyes are still sparkling and smile is quick to flash regardless of the many wrinkles lining their face.  The years seem to melt from their appearance and we become lost in the moment.

So many of us lose this as we age.  Life’s many stresses, the pressures we put upon ourselves and the wars we fight between our ears all dull our natural inner beauty.  Want the best make over in your life?

Look for beauty. 

Look for beauty in other people and your environment.   Look for what is beautiful in the ordinary.  Notice the sunlight filtering  through your windows, the green green of your houseplants, the color of someone’s hair, the sky changing as the days grow longer,  even look for it in the mundane; at your desk, perhaps your pen is well designed or your desk cop is clear and gleaming.

We get more of what we put our attention on in life.  In noticing beauty, we ingest it and  shine out onto the world.  The best beauty tip in the world? Notice the beauty all around you and be inspired by your life as if viewing it all through an artistic eye.

Seek out what is beautiful no matter where you are; look for it, let it surround you and let it bubble back out through that now radiant face of yours.
xo

Images courtesy of  freedigitalphotos.net: yoga shot by Adamr, puppy by Tina Phillips.

Woman in red hat: my grandma Alice Bailey.  I miss you.