I'm glad no one saw me doing this!
If you don’t follow me on social media, you may not know that my mom and I went on a special trip last week. As a birthday gift, I promised her a trip for just the two of us. Our intention for this excursion was to fill ourselves with as much beauty as possible. With that in mind, we chose to go to what I think is one of the most beautiful areas on earth, Carmel and Big Sur, California.
It’s possible that we took our intention too seriously! Just walking the streets of Carmel, we gasped repeatedly about the beauty of the flowers we encountered.
“Look at this one!”
“Oh my gosh, isn't this one amazing?”
“Look at these colors!”
We found ourselves acting as if we had never seen a flower before! I’m kind of glad no one else was there to see how giddy we were acting about flowers.
The beauty-full experiences continued. We had some delicious meals in ambient restaurants. We watched the sunset at the beach. We drank coffee by a fire in a lovely courtyard. We took a scenic drive surrounded by stunning cliffs, forests and iconic golf courses.
We drove up the coastline to Big Sur with spectacular views of the ocean and the rugged coast. Oh my. There’s a reason why people describe beauty as breathtaking. Here’s how Mr. Google describes this coastline: “With cliffs plunging hundreds of feet down to rocky coves churning with foamy surf, Big Sur is one of the most dramatic stretches of coastline anywhere in the world.” I concur, Sir.
We went on a hike up to a waterfall through a redwood-filled canyon. We followed that up with lunch atop a cliff overlooking both the coast and the Santa Lucia mountains. Are you kidding me? How is this much beauty even possible? By this point, I literally felt FULL from taking in so much beauty. (By the way, you can see some of our pictures on my Instagram feed: @mendybeattyconsciouscoaching.)
Since our intention was to notice beauty, I repeatedly focused on being present to it. I put all of my attention on it. I noticed how I felt in my body as I took it in. Here’s what I learned: Beauty has the power to expand our capacity for love. It opens our hearts. It literally shifts our vibration.
If you ever have the privilege to take a trip just for the experience of witnessing beauty, please do so. If you ever have the opportunity to travel to Carmel and Big Sur, please let me know! And if those experiences aren’t possible for you now, I’d like to invite you to simply look around. Set an intention to notice the beauty in your life. Be present to it. Really let it soak into your cells and allow it to raise your vibration. And let me know how it changes you.
I hope this serves you.
Love and light,
Mendy
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