I love you. The Invitation #7.

 Beauty. 

Linger a while and you will see so much of it in this chapter.

May I walk with Beauty before me.

May I walk with Beauty behind me.

May I walk with Beauty above me.

May I walk with Beauty below me.

As I walk the Beauty way.

 

~ Navajo prayer

"What is this Beauty that the Navajo seek? It is what pulls us toward life. It is what calls to us when we despair, seduces us into opening again and again to the possibility of love and laughter. It is the physical manifestation of the Mystery- God, Spirit, the Divine- that surrounds and beckons to us every day of our lives. It is life that chooses life. The Navajo prayer expresses our souls' desire to recognise and receive beauty knowing that as we do so we become co-creators of this beauty, of that which urges, "Live."

 

"Seeing beauty is not about narrowing our vision, designating only some of its manifestations as worthy. It means expanding our definition of beauty, suspending our judgements, and appreciating both the quiet joy of riding a bicycle along the lake and the raunchy glee of driving a cherry-red sports car that hugs the open highway. It means accepting the truth of being a middle-aged woman as it is reflected in both the lines and sagging muscles of my face and belly and the shine of my eyes."

 

"Seeing beauty is about broadening our ability to recognise the interconnectedness of all manifestations of life and delighting in how the smells and sounds and tastes and sights that surround us conspire to draw us toward living fully. I want to touch the power of life giving moisture and recognise the smell of the sea where it caresses the shore, in the scent of my sweat, in the salt of my tears, in the slippery wetness that pours from between my soft thighs when I am well loved. I want to focus on my finger tips, on the shape and weight of my hand, on blood and bone and a thousand nerve endings, as I raise an apple to my mouth, let the tip of my tongue slide on the round smooth firmness of the cool surface, and feel the spray of juice as my teeth pierce the skin and enter the crisp flesh inside. I want to taste the weeks of rain and sun, the ripening on the tree, the labour of the farmer and the fruit picker, the journey of the men and women who bring fruit from grove to table. I want to receive the beauty that reminds me that there is no separation- that each act I live while I am fully awake cannot help but be both prayer and lovemaking."

 

~Oriah Mountain Dreamer

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