A celebration of the creativity of youths, connected. Enjoy and get inspired
What is beauty?
I'm sure you know it doesn't only refer to one's appearance.
Among the 24 character strengths of Martin Seligman, Appreciation of beauty is defined as a strength within the virtue category of transcendence, one of six virtues that subcategorize the 24 strengths. Transcendence describes strengths that help you connect to the sense of your life and provide meaning.
"Those who express an appreciation of beauty & excellence notice and appreciate beauty and/or skilled performance in all domains of life, from nature to art to mathematics to science to everyday experience." [...] "This is often energizing, and compels a person to pursue their own goals. It inspires admiration".
Exercises focused on increasing the appreciation of beauty have been shown to boost happiness and lower depression, in the short term and possibly beyond.
When you travel across #Monza, you can notice a pretty big, yellow sign next to the train station: LA BELLEZZA RESTA - BEAUTY REMAINS. What could this sentence mean, and why is it positioned at the entrance of a theatre in the city?
What can be read in the website is that art has often preferred suffering to a smile, pessimism to optimism. Perhaps we should rethink the words that Pierre Auguste Renoir left to a young Henri Matisse: "Always remember: suffering passes, beauty remains."
Appreciating beauty and the miracle of life around us is one quality that is also cultivated through #mindfulness: the more you inhabit the here and now, just being, without getting lost and carried away by the mind travelling to the future and to the past, the more you can #appreciate what is around you moment by moment, and benefit from this unique experience, calming your mind and body, letting be.
HOW CAN YOU MAKE THE MOST OF APPRECIATION OF BEAUTY IN YOUR EVERYDAY LIFE? AND IN THE MOMENTS THAT MATTER MOST TO YOU?
Some ideas from viacharacter.org:
Keep a "beauty log." When you believe you are seeing something beautiful-whether it is from nature, is human-made (e.g.,artwork) or is the virtuous behavior of others-write it down. Describe the beauty in a few sentences.
Get regular exposure to green space in your environment, especially if you live or work in an urban setting.
Pause to appreciate your inner beauty. One way to do this is to see your character strengths and recall how you have used them to bring benefit to others.
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