What is Beauty?

I have decided to cover beauty in the world as I see it. I have been very privileged to have seen many beautiful things in my life. Things in nature and things in people.

As a child I spent my summers in the mountains of Utah at two cabins owned by each set of grandparents. They were spent fishing, hiking, riding four wheelers, and being with my family. The mountains have always made me feel safe and centered. I spent a lot of time in the Uinta Mountains which were a short drive from either cabin. As I got older and was able to drive I went on my own or with my friends. Many beautiful memories.

The Uinta Mountains are, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful places on Earth. The rocky peaks above the timberline, the cool rivers, streams, lakes, and the pine trees. The sounds of the birds singing and the smell of the forest can make your troubles seem a million miles away.

I have stood in the Canadian Rockies. The mountains look carpeted by pine trees as far as the eye can see. The water in the lakes is some of the most beautiful blues and greens you can imagine. The rivers look like flowing glass, so clear they almost look dry. The people are very friendly and helpful. This is a land that makes you stand in awe of what nature can do.

I have to say one of the most beautiful places I have traveled is Scotland, a land of history and natural beauty. This is a land with dark water lochs, green rocky hills, and heather covered glens. The country of Scotland has a deep and rich history. The cities and towns have many ancient and wonderful buildings. They leave you thinking of the lives and people, who lived, loved, sang, danced, fought, and died in and around their ancient structures. I have stood on the battlefield of Culloden which is actually very pretty, until you realize the horror that happened on the ground you stand upon. The clans that supported Bonnie Prince Charlie are buried in mass graves on the battlefield. The heather refuses to grow over the graves, almost as if respect for the dead. It is like the landscape wants you to see the sacrifice the clans made for their hope of freedom. Scotland is a place of beauty that can haunt you to the very core of your soul; you cannot go to the glens, mountains, lochs, and ancient cities and not be changed in a very emotional way.

Another beautiful site I have seen is my wife in her wedding dress for the first time. There we were, in the beautiful Red Butte Gardens in Salt Lake City. The flowers in full bloom, there was a light breeze, and the sound of bagpipes in the wind, and then there she was, looking amazing in her dress, the train dragging through the fallen petals of the wisteria. She looked so beautiful, as always but especially so in that moment. I could see in that moment all the times we had together, and all the times we would have, I knew in that moment I was marrying my best friend and the one who held the rest of me. We are given so few of those moments perhaps to make us really appreciate the gravity of the beauty each of those moments hold.

Life gives us chances to learn beautiful lessons even when they are painful to learn. With the passing of my Grandpa Moore I have seen how two people after so many years and so many trials say goodbye. The last few years of his life he lost his mobility and fell into the horrible disease of dementia. I watched as he declined and my Grandmother continued, without complaint, to take care of him until he became too far gone for her to physically manage it. When he was moved to a nursing home and she had to let others take over his care she still spent as many days as she could with him. When others said she should slow down and not go every day she refused to stop. It was quite an amazing thing to see her tenderness and love for her husband. I watched as she drew more and more strength from somewhere deep inside. She is an incredible woman who takes her vows and faith to the most amazing level.

This world and this life have some amazing beauty in them. We need to try to see the beautiful lessons we are given the chance to learn, even if they can be painful to see. We should really take time each day to think about the beauty in our lives. We all too often rush from place to place and never learn to look around. We all too often play the victim to the things that happen instead of seeing what we could be learning from all of it. Viewing ourselves as victims of circumstances will never allow us to learn, grow, and see the beauty in all things.

As always find the beauty in your life, live it, and PARTY ON!!!.