Simple beauty can be found anywhere
By Susan Reinhardt
The other day I was taking a shower, and the water suddenly stopped.
I heard a loud noise and walked outside in a robe, my hair dripping wet and soap stuck like sea foam all over me.
A water pipe had exploded two feet from the front door.
Instead of seeing mud and spewing water, I noticed a single pink rose blooming in the early birth of its life. The rose was alone, no others on the vine; no other vines in sight.
The beauty of seeing this flower in single instead of multiple images pressed itself into my mind.
I began to realize it's not the trips to greenhouses and florists that take my breath away.
It's that one flower — maybe a perfectly formed Gerber daisy, or that rose, alone and regal in its solitude.
Beauty is best when it's not overpowered.
Think about this:
Beauty lies in so many of the most minuscule crevices of life that often go unseen.
Once I saw a double rainbow, rare, but not nearly as spectacular as that solo spread of seven colors across the sky after a warm summer rain.
When I watch the Oscars or movies where the physical loveliness is the main attraction, the entire program dilutes itself with too many visions of breathtaking celebrities in Versace or Armani.
It's the one woman, usually Halle Barry or Catherine Zeta-Jones, who should stand alone, the cameras on pause until we can enjoy the entire scene without the approaching swarm.
Beauty is a sky at night — a black blanket lit with a half-moon and span of stars. It's not the nights when the sky becomes fireworks, but a more muted comforter of sparkle and light.
Beauty is the wind when it roars a few times and then stops, pausing to allow a moment of stillness.
It's the sun when it doesn't steal the spotlight and ducks in and out of clouds, giving us those warm dapples that bring that mysterious feeling that all is well with the world.
Beauty is a child holding his mother or father's hand, not 10 children posing, required to do so.
Beauty is sitting across the table with a special friend, her nodding and listening, telling you everything is going to be all right when your heart and soul know differently. It's not 10 friends in a group rendering dozens of opinions.
Beauty is a short nap. A child's laugh. A creek's song during the evening when accompanied by one or two birds that chose to sing a final encore.
Beauty is a "date" with one of my kids, each taken somewhere on separate occasions.
Next time you're out, glance around. Focus on one thing.
And cherish it. That's real beauty.
Susan Reinhardt is a columnist and feature writer for the Asheville (N.C.) Citizen-Times. She is the author of "Not Tonight Honey, Wait 'Til I'm a Size 6."
