Hello folks,

I was reflecting on beauty and how important it is particularly when we feel depressed. When I am depressed, I often feel ugly and my mind dwells on unpleasant thoughts. Beauty can bring relief and a source of renewed hope. I believe there is always beauty to be found in the world when we search for it. Sometimes that's harder to do when we feel very low or scared. So here's a thread to help us remember the beauty.

Beauty can mean so many things to different people. A beautiful scene, a kind act, a soulful song, learning a new skill, self-appreciation, something from the Universe...

I heard a story about a shop owner who found a guy stealing. He asked the guy why he stole the items. The guy replied that it was food for himself and his brother because they didn't have the money for it. The shop owner told him that all he had to do was ask. He filled a bag with food items for both boys free of charge. When asked why he didn't call the police he said: "I didn't want him to get a criminal record. That could affect his whole future and stop him from getting a job. In my country if someone is hungry, you feed them."

I thought this story was beautiful.

Please share examples of beauty. That can certainly include something beautiful that you appreciate about yourself or a beautiful compliment you received.

When the sun shines on a mound of fresh snow, sometimes it looks blueish and sometimes has a hint of lavender. It is beautiful.

A few days ago, there were results released for a telescope called as Event Horizon Telescope. The aim of the project was to capture the images of black holes. Here is a piece of the result.


I find it beautiful. I am currently listened to the song Monsters of the Cosmos by Melody Sheep.

Mind you, getting stuck in a black hole is far from being beautiful, but I am awed by how the Universe works. Stephen Hawking also researched on black holes and their mechanism. There's a type of radiation called as Hawking radiation, which a black hole emits constantly. Eventually the black hole disappears.

I find it beautiful to ask myself, "What will happen when the center black hole of our galaxy, Sagittarius A* disappears?"


There's a type of momentum, called as angular momentum. It's said that even galaxies are rotating about something.

It's really beautiful to know, that there is really no boundary to the Universe. It's said to be a "limitless expanse."

[happysobercrafter]

I read about the man giving the kid food instead of calling the police on him. I hope someone follows up with the kid to help them with what they need. That would also be beautiful!!

Yes it would! Perhaps someone will be inspired by the story.

[happysobercrafter]

Being the mute, bashful, shy girl I am, I would LOVE a yard where I could set this up!!

Gorgeous! I love bright colors...they uplift the spirit!

Thank you for the marvelous contributions Lonely Chemist! I too am in awe of the Universe. The idea of a limitless expanse makes me feel equal parts humble and curious! My partner watches videos about space most nights before he goes to sleep. He was looking at the images of black holes the other day. He's thoroughly intrigued.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I think you have a beautiful mind

Originally Posted by SilverTrees

Thank you for the marvelous contributions Lonely Chemist! I too am in awe of the Universe. The idea of a limitless expanse makes me feel equal parts humble and curious! My partner watches videos about space most nights before he goes to sleep. He was looking at the images of black holes the other day. He's thoroughly intrigued.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I think you have a beautiful mind

Neil DeGrasse Tyson once was asked, "What is the most astounding fact about the Universe?"
He replied,

The most astounding fact [about the universe] is the knowledge that the atoms that comprise life on Earth, the atoms that make up the human body, are traceable to the crucibles that cooked light elements into heavy elements in their core under extreme temperatures and pressures.
These stars, the high mass ones among them, went unstable in their later years. They collapsed and then exploded, scattering their enriched guts across the galaxy—guts made of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and all the fundamental ingredients of life itself.
These ingredients become part of gas clouds that condense, collapse, form the next generation of solar systems, stars with orbiting planets, and those planets now have the ingredients for life itself, so that when I look up at the night sky and I know that yes, we are part of this universe, we are in this universe, but perhaps more important than both of those facts is that the universe is in us.
When I reflect on that fact, I look up, many people feel small because they’re small and the Universe is big, but I feel big, because my atoms came from those stars.
There’s a level of connectivity. That’s really what you want in life. You want to feel connected. You want to feel relevant. You want to feel like you are a participant in the goings on of activities and events around you. That’s precisely what we are just by being alive

I particularly like the italic part.

Congratulations on having a partner who's interested in astronomy! My (potential ) partner could not care less about his studies of chemistry and geology at undergrad level. Let alone something like astronomy. Only if shared similar interests, I'd have had a massive profit (LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL)

Thank you for your compliment. It is my dream to be a part of the scientific community. It's after all, the only place where bias and all negative things are kept at minimum.

[Serpentine Leaf]

Thanks to everyone who has participated in this post, and of course who began it. This is always something that has helped me in my lowest moments... though when I'm at my lowest I tend to forget. Spending time surrounded by nature or gazing into infinity on a clear night is at once humbling and uplifting. At both a spiritual and a physical level, it helps us to properly understand out place. It keeps us from thinking too much of ourselves or our problems, but also reminds us that since we are part of this vastness that lies so far beyond human comprehension, we are important. The universe doesn't revolve around us, but it wouldn't waste its time on something useless. We just have the challenging task of finding out why we're here.

[Twilight1227]

That is a beautiful story and it just shows that there are still some decent kind people in the world, Thank you for sharing

[Breaking Dawn]

My goodness, @HappyCrafter, you are amazing!!! Thank you so much, for everything!!

[Skeezyks]

YouTube

Thank you very much for sharing the music Skeezyks. It's very beautiful and uplifting! The images are also very powerful. That's why I created this thread...we all need beauty in our lives

[LiteraryLark]

Thanks for this thread!

I work in housekeeping and am still new, and I enjoy talking to the Spanish workers who enjoy teaching me Spanish, but there is one worker whom everyone loves who did not like it when I spoke Spanish to him and seemed offended by it, and I felt he didn't like me. One day we were partners. He'd often ask me how to say things in English, and we talked a lot (in English), but by the end of the day I realized something. He quickly warmed up to me as we spoke more and more in English, but he repeated something remarkable with tremendous pride, "I learned English in school! I learned English in school!" After high school (in Mexico), he described spending six months in a higher-level school learning English. I realized he is very proud of being able to speak English and gets excited to be able to have conversations in English, just as I get excited to speak Spanish. We both seemed to realize that about each other because since that day, we're the best of friends and we communicate and joke around in both English and Spanish. And hey, I made another friend!

Originally Posted by LiteraryLark

Thanks for this thread!

I work in housekeeping and am still new, and I enjoy talking to the Spanish workers who enjoy teaching me Spanish, but there is one worker whom everyone loves who did not like it when I spoke Spanish to him and seemed offended by it, and I felt he didn't like me. One day we were partners. He'd often ask me how to say things in English, and we talked a lot (in English), but by the end of the day I realized something. He quickly warmed up to me as we spoke more and more in English, but he repeated something remarkable with tremendous pride, "I learned English in school! I learned English in school!" After high school (in Mexico), he described spending six months in a higher-level school learning English. I realized he is very proud of being able to speak English and gets excited to be able to have conversations in English, just as I get excited to speak Spanish. We both seemed to realize that about each other because since that day, we're the best of friends and we communicate and joke around in both English and Spanish. And hey, I made another friend!

What an endearing story of human connection! Thank you for sharing Literary Lark. I want to point out that had you not stayed open and partnered with the guy regardless of the vibe you were initially getting, such a friendship could not have evolved. I admire you for allowing yourself to be open and vulnerable with a new friend....that is indeed beautiful!

[daggy]

Maybe I just don't get things the way others do but I get all the visual beauty but these days what I truly find beauty in the simple acts people can do for others to give life itself a beauty.
Be it helping the elderly or frail or those just in need and don't expect it.
Or a little child giving a flower to an older person sitting alone in the park.
That sort of thing is just my idea of beauty.

Originally Posted by daggy

Maybe I just don't get things the way others do but I get all the visual beauty but these days what I truly find beauty in the simple acts people can do for others to give life itself a beauty.
Be it helping the elderly or frail or those just in need and don't expect it.
Or a little child giving a flower to an older person sitting alone in the park.
That sort of thing is just my idea of beauty.

You are not alone there Daggy. The examples you mentioned are filled with beauty! Thank you very much for contributing.

Thank you to everyone for your wonderful contributions. I placed this thread in the Depression section because it is healing for us to remember the beauty in the world...whatever beauty is to each of us. There is great pain in this world but there is also tremendous light and love and hope.

Feel free to post here as many times as you like. Or if someone has said or done something ugly in your life, and nothing seems beautiful, come back and revisit the beauty thread...read other people's examples of beauty...find connection and feel better.