For some people, it’s beautiful music. For some, it is flowers and soft lighting. For some it is mountain views. For others, it is a walk at water’s edge. For me, it is people talking, people interacting.
“It†is beauty. And for me, the people who are talking are husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, sons and daughters. When I hear them talking softly, gently to each other, I think there is nothing more beautiful. When I hear people telephoning their spouse, parent, child and speaking in sweet, loving terms, I feel happy. When I see them whispering to each other, holding each other’s hands, embracing and smiling at each other, I am filled with awe.
When I was young, I used to think that people were programmed to be kind to their close relatives. Unfortunately, that often is not true. In my practice I have seen people treat their family members unkindly. They shout at them, call them names, try to gain the upper hand. They work to control them, to disable them, and they destroy their self-respect.
It is so easy to be kind. It is so easy to show love and caring. But after all of the years of working with people who are unkind to each other, when I see it being done right, I can’t help but think of it as beauty.
