Fall is my favorite time of year. I try to walk in the woods as much as I can during this time because I am awestruck by the beauty of the colors of the leaves.
Whenever I walk in nature profound ideas come to me. Here’s my latest one…
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Isn’t it interesting that when we are outside we only see nature’s beauty? We view the entire scene and call it beautiful just as it is. We don’t try to change anything or call some of it ugly. We just accept it.
The funny thing is nature is full of imperfections. The picture above is Seneca Creek State Park from far away. Now check out these close-up pictures from the same park.
When you look closer you see lots of weeds, decaying wood, fallen trees.
How come we see the entire picture in nature and call it beautiful? How come we accept it just as it is, flaws and all?
You know where I’m going with this right? If it is so easy to accept nature and call it beautiful then why can’t we do this for ourselves?
I know I spend entirely too much energy criticizing myself. Everything from how I look to what I said to how I live my life. Can you relate?
“This outfit makes me look fat, my eyes are too squinty, I shouldn’t have said that to her, my speech wasn’t good enough.” Good lord! Isn’t it exhausting criticizing ourselves so much?
We spend too much time focusing on our weeds and decaying wood instead of our overall glorious selves!
Everything, I repeat, everything is imperfect, including nature. It is how things are supposed to be. The natural order of things. God designed us this way. Sometimes we bloom, other times we struggle and are covered in weeds. But that is was makes us interesting and beautiful.
We need to look at ourselves (and others) from a big picture perspective. That is the key.
When you criticize yourself for something take a deep breath and say, “I love and accept myself”.
You and me and all of us are perfectly imperfect. And that’s a beautiful thing.
Just as God intended.
In Light,
Hilary
