We bask in the warmth of the sun, are stunned by the beauty of the flowers, and curl up in the comfort of love. Life is beautiful. Experience tickles the sensations, sending waves of feeling throughout our bodies. But too much sensation overwhelms the system, shutting down normal processing, and requiring disrupting adaptations.
We progress and mature through optimal levels of sensation. In psychology this is known as a window of tolerance. Our abilities to manage experience should be challenged by emotion but not trampled with emotional overload. Character forms when experience is between ease and chaos. Without challenges we stagnate, expecting too much from others, and growing accustomed to idleness. With chaos, we become discouraged, unsure how to act, so we seek escape. Our choices play a role in the future environments, whether chaotic or managed.
“The longer I live, the more beautiful life becomes.”
~Frank Lloyd Wright
Pleasure and Consequence
Undisciplined and impatient, we may chase pleasures; immediate gratifications without intelligent consideration of future impact. Our childhoods are ripe with these choices. As we mature, and with proper guidance, we develop deeper awareness to the costs and rewards of present choice. Studying for the exam has a greater reward than another night of drinking with the boys (or girls). But the stages of growth are fluid, not recognizable, and sometimes regrettably missed.
The adult consequences of poor choice can be high. When self-discipline remains unexercised it withers, life erupts into a chaotic mess. Our pain, instead of examined and resolved through rebuilding, often is excused, projected and denied. Climbing free of the madness is no longer from easily recognizable steps. Instead of seeking help, or integrating proven remedies, we drift into fantasy, thinking a quick fix will solve our lifetime of poor choices.
The atmosphere of our lives is muddled with the stormy disarray of destructive choices.
“As we mature, and with proper guidance, we develop deeper awareness to the costs and rewards of present choice.”
~T. Franklin Murphy
Focusing on the Beauty
The complexity of becoming is way too complicated. Perhaps, we need to stop the madness, look around at the beauty, and bask in the awe of living. Life can be beautiful if we look for it. Albert Schweitzer said “never say there is nothing beautiful in the world anymore. There is always something to make you wonder in the shape of a tree, the trembling of a leaf.”
The beauty surrounds us. We just fail to see it. Helen Keller explains, “the most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched, they must be felt with the heart.” perhaps, we are looking for beauty the wrong way. Alyssa Ponticello wrote, “I think one of the easiest ways to find beauty in life is through gratitude, being thankful and grateful for the opportunities, people, experiences and things that surround you” (2022). I think Alyssa is on to something.
Making Small Steps to Change
When recovery is unclear, the path obscured, we must approach change through the small identifiable steps of personal change, enhancing resources and improving skills. Even though lifestyles may have alienated us from normalcy, we must waddle through the uncomfortable relationships to regain clear insights of living.
As we work through these changes, we can’t lose sight. The work sorrows our souls. I have spent most my life living in the swamp of sorrowful thoughts, working to be better. I just needed to stop, lift my vision and see the surrounding beauty.
“Do something wonderful this week. Surprise the people around you. Live dangerously. Take a risk. Amaze yourself.”
~gala darling
Managing Discomfort to Achieve Growth
We need an anchor to reel in faulty perceptions. Slowly, insights are gained, our choices improve, limiting future difficulties, creating a friendly future, organizing the turmoil of our current chaos. With growing skills and less difficulties, life becomes manageable; not easy. We then can respond with confidence; our growth softens the wounds from the past, lessens the fear of failure, and minimizes doubts for the future. And here again, the work of change drags us down, weights down our souls and discourages progress. It is time for another break. We can stop, look around, find beauty in the world, in the process of change, and in our hearts.
Recovery brings us back to the split in the road where we previously errored. But this time, with additional experience, we proceed with wisdom, starting over, a little worn and behind, we still can achieve greatness, basking in the sunlight, stunned by the beauty of the flowers, and curling up in the comfort of love. Just as this article oddly bounced back and forth between the work of change and the momentary rest of enjoying the beauty of life, we to need to integrate these two aspects of living. We can work, improve our futures, while still basking in the monetary joys of being.
References:
Ponticello, Alyssa (2022). How to Find the Beauty in Life. Alyssa Ponticello. Published 2-14-2022. Accessed 5-15-2023.