Tag Archives: beauty

Create, and change the world

I’m a firm believer that one of the easiest ways we change the world is by simply employing the creativity we were born with. You’re not creative, you say? Pshaw! I’m not buying it for a second! Think outside of the box of “painter, writer, musician”, etc. These are the artistic pursuits that we easily think of as creative, but creative is not just talent in any certain area. It is a way of being, an approach to life that can add color and vitality to anything and everything we touch. Creativity brings life alive.

Look inside yourself. There is at least one thing at which you are naturally adept, and there are likely many. You didn’t really have to learn it; you were just immediately good when you tried it. The best part is, it makes your heart happy when you do that thing.

The joy that you feel when you honor yourself vibrates outward and brings great joy to others. It also inspires them to do the same. I do believe that is a big part of life’s purpose, to express those special talents and abilities that we each carry inside of us. Create, build, and play!

You’ll be making the make the world a brighter place while you’re at it. 🙂

“Stop acting so small. You are the universe in ecstatic motion.” (Rumi)

Inspirational Creativity Quotes:

“We have to continually be jumping off cliffs and developing our wings on the way down.” ~ Kurt Vonnegut,

“Creativity is intelligence having fun.” ~ Albert Einstein

“Creativity takes courage. ” ~ Henri Matisse

“To be creative means to be in love with life. You can be creative only if you love life enough that you want to enhance its beauty, you want to bring a little more music to it, a little more poetry to it, a little more dance to it.” ~ Osho

“The painter has the Universe in his mind and hands.” ~ Leonardo da Vinci

Worshipping Mr. Sun

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(This post is brought to you by edict of our equally revered Sunflowers.)

The sunflowers tell me that a little sun worship is in order today. Entirely understandable! I can see how the Summer Solstice would the day of ALL days for giant flora whose primary mission is to exalt their hero, Mr. Sun. A little sun worship will therefore involve a bow to their magnificence as well. (Of course. It goes without saying!)

For mere lowly humans such as we, whose lives may not revolve around the sun (but they do!), the sun is mightily important to us as well. Where would we be without Mr. Sun, so shall we begin with the bowing and scraping?

Lustrous diamond, blazing star constant and true. Sol, we adore you.

The Summer Solstice is here. Yay! The sun has taken some real bashing in the past few years about giving us skin damage, but as with everything in life, it’s all about balance.

Gratitude is an amplifier for the abundance in our lives. Yes I know, you may be thinking… It’s the sun’s job to be up there in the sky, keeping me alive! So just do your job, Mr. Sun. I have enough to worry about.

But wait a minute! When we take a few moments in our day to say “thank you” here and there, life starts to feel better. We become more consciously aware of the good, and we feel blessed.

So next time you step outside into sunlight, try this. Stop for a moment, close your eyes, tip your face upward, and feel the blissful warmth on your skin. Think to yourself, Ah, yes… Thank you, Mr. Sun. You are one of the things that I can count on in life to make me feel good.

Shimmering golden gleams of light from heaven’s eye, Sun kisses the Earth.

The enchanting moments of nature have captivated all of us at some time or another. The soft sweet scent of a certain flower and a golden apricot sky at sunset are two very common human pleasures.

Sunlight filtering through the clouds has become a classic symbol of ethereal connection, sometimes in a biblical context. I see the rays as an almost tangible expression of the nurturing star that warms our planet, and my heart lifts in witness to this everyday magic.

Enchantment is in the heart of the beholder, and it is not just found in nature. It’s all around us, every day, but we must have some sense of wonder to see and appreciate it. Enchantment is part of our childhood stories. Why do we give up that idea in adulthood? Is life so serious that we cannot acknowledge and enjoy it in our grown-up lives?

Look for those magical uplifting moments that are all yours and hold them close. Delight in them. Let them be your measuring stick, your inspiration, for what you would like life to feel like more of the time.

Star-struck sunflowers, nothing holds a candle to your idol, The Sun.

If you delude yourself that your sunflowers are impatiently awaiting your arrival in the garden, think again. They have only one thing on their minds, which is, “Where is Mr. Sun now?” Any tiny part you play in their world pales in comparison.

The behavior of sunflowers turning to the sun is called heliotropism. They have a built-in 24-hour tracking system that follows the sun everywhere. They’ve even been known to wait in the field at night with their faces turned to the east, steadfastly waiting for their idol to appear once again. Now that’s adulation!

Burnished swirls of gold, proud ochre orbs draped in grace. Vincent, we’re smitten.

Vincent van Gogh. Millions of art lovers worldwide revere his name and works of art. In these modern times, particularly his sunflower paintings are beloved beyond his wildest dreams.

I love sunflowers, they have long been a favorite, and so Van Gogh feels to me like a kindred spirit. I have painted sunflowers from my garden numerous times. He painted twelve sunflower works in all, between 1887 and 1889.

Van Gogh created some of the paintings especially for a visit of the also (later) famous artist Paul Gauguin. Apparently Vincent proclaimed to his brother Theo that sunflowers would become his artistic signature. Little did he know how true that would be!

Are your eyes tired from all that sunshine? Time to put on your best pair of sunnies and head out to celebrate the Solstice. After all, it IS the longest day of the year, something to be savored. Wishing you a wonderful weekend full of all the good things in life, whatever that means for you. 🙂

© Susan L Hart 2025 / Author website: HartInspirations.com / My eBooks

The writing in this post is excerpted from my ebook Our Beautiful Earth Vol 2. It is available in my ebookstore here.

The Beauty of Our Souls

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Sometimes we forget to look for the deeper beauty in life. Beauty is easy to see on the face of a young person, fresh-faced and attractive by the definition of the particular culture in which they live. And admittedly, we all love to gaze upon a beautiful face. Beauty gives us pleasure.

But when physical beauty fades around the edges, then we have no choice but to look deeper. And there comes a point in our own evolution when we realize: The full, deep beauty of a person lies in their heart. Ironically, it is in this realization that our own souls grow to another level of beauty. We start seeing and connecting to people in a different way. We start living from the heart.

Some inner wisdom, expressed by the model and actress Audrey Hepburn, who was revered in her time for her exquisite physical beauty:

“The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman is seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides. True beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It’s the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she shows & the beauty of a woman only grows with passing years.”

Later in life, Audrey worked hands on in some of the poorest communities in Africa, South America, and Asia, to help alleviate poverty and be an example of what the Greeks call “agape”, or love for humanity. She became an icon for beauty yet again, but this time for a different kind, that of her heart.

Yes, (no matter our gender): The wisdom accumulated from our many life lessons, the shine in our eyes, our caring and compassion for our fellow human, our enthusiasm and gratitude for life itself, and a deep desire to keep living it with the full on curiosity and passion of a child – these are what grow us into the fullness of the inherent beauty of our souls.