I make it my intention to find beauty daily regardless of what’s going on around me, the world. I am responsible for my thoughts, my actions. I can only control myself.
Mother Nature is full of beauty. I choose to see it.
🕊️🩷
🐰🐰🐰
l look to the words of Mr Roger’s mother- Look for the helpers. I don’t know how to find beauty in suffering, but I do find it in generosity and kindness.
Intention. I must intentionally choose to look for beauty. All of the beauty and suffering exist together, it’s not one or the other. By being open and aware, I have a better chance of seeing all of it.
For better or worse.
The question of seeing beauty amidst suffering
haunted me for years,
but now
haunts me no more.
My firstborn
died in the spring,
when the world was coming alive,
and I couldn’t bear it . . .
The new hay
greening in the fields,
calves and lambs romping with joy,
nursing at their mothers’ teats,
then sleeping peacefully among the flowers . . .
it was all too painful,
while my son
was lying cold and dead in the ground.
But I have since learned
that with beauty
also comes suffering,
and it is as powerful as beauty itself.
There is a balance–
a natural order in the Universe that must be honored
if we are to see Truth.
“To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven…”
Ecclesiastes 3:1
If there is to be birth and growth
decay and death are required
and inevitable . . .
we must take the bitter with the sweet,
and if we try to cheat the cycle
we will be put aright.
I understand now
that if we never experienced suffering
we could not possibly know joy.
If we look very carefully
we will even find beauty in the midst of suffering . . .
what helps me to see it
is to recognize
that the wild, unleashed ocean waves that kill
are also the ones that nibble at my toes along the shore.
The deadly fires that blaze through the forest
are also the ones that ignite certain seeds
that can only grow from fire.
This is the way of the Universe,
and no candy coating
can change it . . .
the sooner we realize this
the sooner we can find some modicum of peace
inside of what often seems like chaos. ♥
I see the beauty of family, community and/or friendship when we walk beside one who is suffering. I see beauty in nature outside when my own thoughts and feelings may be inwardly pitiful, drooping and hurting. I see beauty in babies and young children who delight me with toothless grins, cutting eyes, playful peekaboos, or hilarious comments when I’m otherwise not paying attention to anything but the worries of the world. I behold the beauty of my puppy sitting in my husband’s lap as he reads the horror of the day on his tablet. I marvel at the daffodils that have pushed up in the dry soil that often reflects the dryness of our souls. There is a tension, a partnership, even in this life, between beauty and suffering.
Beauty is there whether or not I see it. Acknowledging suffering as a real element of human experience grounds appreciation for beauty, just as we couldn’t recognize light if there were no dark. I’ve been fortunate to have much more beauty than suffering in my life. Remembering the good helps me recognize I can survive the bad, whatever it is. If the suffering isn’t mine directly, beauty helps me maintain my ability to care and to act.
A couple of quotations I chose to go with the collection:
In the face of horrors visited upon our world daily, in the struggle to protect our loved ones, choosing to let in joy is a revolutionary act. Joy returns us to everything that is good and beautiful and worth fighting for.
— Valarie Kaur
Life is a hard battle anyway. If we laugh and sing a little as we fight the good fight of freedom, it makes it all go easier. I will not allow my life’s light to be determined by the darkness around me. — Sojourner Truth
If the suffering is looming and I want to shift my perspective quickly, I use Stop. Look. Go.
If the suffering is gnawing or chronic, I sit quietly and focus on the most painful sensations, let them expand and move. With patience, something will shift and I will be open to beauty again.
Sharing with friends or loved ones helps too.
If I get moving outside, I’ll often see something beautiful, even in the city.
Doing art or looking at art.
Singing, listening to music.
I hadn’t expected to build a list, but there are many ways to see beauty even when there is suffering. Sometimes the suffering itself makes beauty.
In 12-step meetings, I learned that suffering is a given but misery is optional. I share some thoughts from Richard Rohr’s book, Radical Grace pp. 209 and 282
“Suffering is the necessary deep feeling of the human situation. If we don’t feel pain, suffering, human failure, and weakness, we stand antiseptically apart from it, and remain numb and small. We can’t understand such things by thinking about them. The superficiality of much of our world is that it tries to buy its way out of the ordinary limits and pain of being human. Carl Jung called it “necessary suffering,” and I think he was right.
Jesus did not numb himself or withhold himself from human pain, as we see even in his refusal of the numbing wine on the cross (Matthew 27:34). Some forms of suffering are necessary so that we know the human dilemma, so that we can even name our shadow self and confront it.
Brothers and sisters, the irony is not that God should feel so fiercely; it’s that his creatures feel so feebly. If there is nothing in your life to cry about, if there is nothing in your life to yell about, you must be out of touch. We must all feel and know the immense pain of this global humanity. Then we are no longer isolated, but a true member of the universal Body of Christ. Then we know God not from the outside but from the inside. ”
“We live a long time in order to become lovers. God is like a good parent, refusing to do our homework for us. We must learn through trial and error. We have to do our homework ourselves, the homework of suffering, desiring, loving, and winning and losing, hundreds of times.
Grief is one of the greatest occasions of deep and sad feeling, and it’s one that is socially acceptable. Most understand and want to walk with you in your grief. When we lose a beloved friend, wife, husband, child, parent, or maybe a possession or a job, we feel it is okay to feel deeply. But we must broaden that. We’ve got to find a passion that is also experienced when we have it, not just when we’re losing it. And we have it all the time. Don’t wait for loss to feel, suffer, or enjoy deeply.”
What a beautiful reflection,
dear Carol Ann . . .
we do ourselves
and the world
a great disservice
by numbing our suffering
and scoffing at beauty.
They are precious parts
of our humanity. ♥
To remember that Gratefulness, which leads to perceive beauty is possible in every moment by choice for it, while staying aware of posisble pain and not suppressing it. It does not necessarily reduce the pain, which might be intense even, but might reduce suffering, as in the same time, there might be sunshine to my perception, or a sunrise, or dear friends, or a hot tea offered, or a beautiful Spring flower curiously peeking throuhg snow despite all odds, which lets the echo of the flower´s calling sun appear in my heart and face, despite all odds, too.
Be able to hold both states in my mind and heart is helpful to me in seeing reality and beauty in the same situation. When someone is struggling, I hold them in my morning meditation which is calm, peaceful, and fortifying. It is a beautiful place for their true spirit to reside while they make their way to their own calm and peaceful place.🩷
There is always good out there, even in terrible times.
son update – my son ended up getting a DNF (did not finish) the Tokyo Marathon – he decided to drop out at mile 14 to be safe – he vomited and his urine was very dark yellow despite lots of water. He still got a half marathon and had fun. He is playing it safe and there is still more Japan trip so he did not want to injure himself. I’m a proud mom, especially knowing he was paying attn to his body – the previous two days of jet lag were pretty bad. He has done previous marathons before so he knows he can do it, just wasn’t meant to be for this one. I love his positive attitude about it.
Your son is wise beyond his years,
dear Michele.
I honor
that he knew what was best for him
and did it,
saving some joy
for the rest of his time in Japan. ♥
That is awesome awareness on his part and a bit of bravery mixed in. I came across a quote yesterday: if you are brave enough to say “goodbye’s” life will reward you with new “Hello’s.” Paulo Coehlo
I was taught to compare my suffering to that of others to see mine as lighter. Even though it feels like I have less empathy for myself, it helps me count blessings that I hadn’t realized. Once I notice my good fortune, beauty appears. 💐
It has become my nature to still see beauty despite suffering. I have learned to look for the good, because there is always good – somewhere, somehow. I do pray that all who are suffering may find peace.
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I make it my intention to find beauty daily regardless of what’s going on around me, the world. I am responsible for my thoughts, my actions. I can only control myself.
Mother Nature is full of beauty. I choose to see it.
🕊️🩷
🐰🐰🐰
🐇🐇🐇
l look to the words of Mr Roger’s mother- Look for the helpers. I don’t know how to find beauty in suffering, but I do find it in generosity and kindness.
Intention. I must intentionally choose to look for beauty. All of the beauty and suffering exist together, it’s not one or the other. By being open and aware, I have a better chance of seeing all of it.
For better or worse.
“All of the beauty and suffering exist together…”
It is all part of the mystery,
dear Charlie,
isn’t it? ♥
This is an answer that I can live with, Charle. Thank you.
The question of seeing beauty amidst suffering
haunted me for years,
but now
haunts me no more.
My firstborn
died in the spring,
when the world was coming alive,
and I couldn’t bear it . . .
The new hay
greening in the fields,
calves and lambs romping with joy,
nursing at their mothers’ teats,
then sleeping peacefully among the flowers . . .
it was all too painful,
while my son
was lying cold and dead in the ground.
But I have since learned
that with beauty
also comes suffering,
and it is as powerful as beauty itself.
There is a balance–
a natural order in the Universe that must be honored
if we are to see Truth.
“To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven…”
Ecclesiastes 3:1
If there is to be birth and growth
decay and death are required
and inevitable . . .
we must take the bitter with the sweet,
and if we try to cheat the cycle
we will be put aright.
I understand now
that if we never experienced suffering
we could not possibly know joy.
If we look very carefully
we will even find beauty in the midst of suffering . . .
what helps me to see it
is to recognize
that the wild, unleashed ocean waves that kill
are also the ones that nibble at my toes along the shore.
The deadly fires that blaze through the forest
are also the ones that ignite certain seeds
that can only grow from fire.
This is the way of the Universe,
and no candy coating
can change it . . .
the sooner we realize this
the sooner we can find some modicum of peace
inside of what often seems like chaos. ♥
Yes dear Sparrow.
The Divine in me,
dear Joseph,
bows to the Divine in you. ♥
Amen, dear Sparrow.
♥
I see the beauty of family, community and/or friendship when we walk beside one who is suffering. I see beauty in nature outside when my own thoughts and feelings may be inwardly pitiful, drooping and hurting. I see beauty in babies and young children who delight me with toothless grins, cutting eyes, playful peekaboos, or hilarious comments when I’m otherwise not paying attention to anything but the worries of the world. I behold the beauty of my puppy sitting in my husband’s lap as he reads the horror of the day on his tablet. I marvel at the daffodils that have pushed up in the dry soil that often reflects the dryness of our souls. There is a tension, a partnership, even in this life, between beauty and suffering.
Katrina, as far as friends, family, and community goes, we’re not made to go alone. Human interactions are irreplaceable.
Beauty is there whether or not I see it. Acknowledging suffering as a real element of human experience grounds appreciation for beauty, just as we couldn’t recognize light if there were no dark. I’ve been fortunate to have much more beauty than suffering in my life. Remembering the good helps me recognize I can survive the bad, whatever it is. If the suffering isn’t mine directly, beauty helps me maintain my ability to care and to act.
One of my answers to this question is poetry. This question is especially timely for me since I recently published a collection of poetry links on this very topic https://biketoworkbarb.blogspot.com/2026/02/a-rose-amidst-thorns-poems-about-beauty.html. These are works in which the poet looks directly at this contrast.
A couple of quotations I chose to go with the collection:
In the face of horrors visited upon our world daily, in the struggle to protect our loved ones, choosing to let in joy is a revolutionary act. Joy returns us to everything that is good and beautiful and worth fighting for.
— Valarie Kaur
Life is a hard battle anyway. If we laugh and sing a little as we fight the good fight of freedom, it makes it all go easier. I will not allow my life’s light to be determined by the darkness around me. — Sojourner Truth
The poems you have posted,
dear Barb,
are exquisite.
They are all more than worthy.
For my response
I choose the simplest . . .
“No mud, no lotus.”
The Buddha
Thank you. ♥
The Sojourner Truth quote, poignant and so beautiful.
If the suffering is looming and I want to shift my perspective quickly, I use Stop. Look. Go.
If the suffering is gnawing or chronic, I sit quietly and focus on the most painful sensations, let them expand and move. With patience, something will shift and I will be open to beauty again.
Sharing with friends or loved ones helps too.
If I get moving outside, I’ll often see something beautiful, even in the city.
Doing art or looking at art.
Singing, listening to music.
I hadn’t expected to build a list, but there are many ways to see beauty even when there is suffering. Sometimes the suffering itself makes beauty.
“Sometimes the suffering itself makes beauty.”
Truer words
were never spoken,
dear Drea. ♥
I can only imagine how much art is transmuted suffering, dear Sparrow.
I’ve thought about that too,
dear Drea . . . ♥
In 12-step meetings, I learned that suffering is a given but misery is optional. I share some thoughts from Richard Rohr’s book, Radical Grace pp. 209 and 282
“Suffering is the necessary deep feeling of the human situation. If we don’t feel pain, suffering, human failure, and weakness, we stand antiseptically apart from it, and remain numb and small. We can’t understand such things by thinking about them. The superficiality of much of our world is that it tries to buy its way out of the ordinary limits and pain of being human. Carl Jung called it “necessary suffering,” and I think he was right.
Jesus did not numb himself or withhold himself from human pain, as we see even in his refusal of the numbing wine on the cross (Matthew 27:34). Some forms of suffering are necessary so that we know the human dilemma, so that we can even name our shadow self and confront it.
Brothers and sisters, the irony is not that God should feel so fiercely; it’s that his creatures feel so feebly. If there is nothing in your life to cry about, if there is nothing in your life to yell about, you must be out of touch. We must all feel and know the immense pain of this global humanity. Then we are no longer isolated, but a true member of the universal Body of Christ. Then we know God not from the outside but from the inside. ”
“We live a long time in order to become lovers. God is like a good parent, refusing to do our homework for us. We must learn through trial and error. We have to do our homework ourselves, the homework of suffering, desiring, loving, and winning and losing, hundreds of times.
Grief is one of the greatest occasions of deep and sad feeling, and it’s one that is socially acceptable. Most understand and want to walk with you in your grief. When we lose a beloved friend, wife, husband, child, parent, or maybe a possession or a job, we feel it is okay to feel deeply. But we must broaden that. We’ve got to find a passion that is also experienced when we have it, not just when we’re losing it. And we have it all the time. Don’t wait for loss to feel, suffer, or enjoy deeply.”
Thank you Carol Ann.
What a beautiful reflection,
dear Carol Ann . . .
we do ourselves
and the world
a great disservice
by numbing our suffering
and scoffing at beauty.
They are precious parts
of our humanity. ♥
I love Richard Rohr and because of your comments I have resubscribed to his daily meditations. I need them. Thank you.
This is so good, thank you Carol.
The acknowledgement that they exist
Yram, that’s a very good starting point.
To remember that Gratefulness, which leads to perceive beauty is possible in every moment by choice for it, while staying aware of posisble pain and not suppressing it. It does not necessarily reduce the pain, which might be intense even, but might reduce suffering, as in the same time, there might be sunshine to my perception, or a sunrise, or dear friends, or a hot tea offered, or a beautiful Spring flower curiously peeking throuhg snow despite all odds, which lets the echo of the flower´s calling sun appear in my heart and face, despite all odds, too.
Be able to hold both states in my mind and heart is helpful to me in seeing reality and beauty in the same situation. When someone is struggling, I hold them in my morning meditation which is calm, peaceful, and fortifying. It is a beautiful place for their true spirit to reside while they make their way to their own calm and peaceful place.🩷
What a remarkable idea.
There is always good out there, even in terrible times.
son update – my son ended up getting a DNF (did not finish) the Tokyo Marathon – he decided to drop out at mile 14 to be safe – he vomited and his urine was very dark yellow despite lots of water. He still got a half marathon and had fun. He is playing it safe and there is still more Japan trip so he did not want to injure himself. I’m a proud mom, especially knowing he was paying attn to his body – the previous two days of jet lag were pretty bad. He has done previous marathons before so he knows he can do it, just wasn’t meant to be for this one. I love his positive attitude about it.
Thank you everyone – they made it to their next adventure – Nara – for a couple days, then will be taking train back to Tokyo.
Your son is wise beyond his years,
dear Michele.
I honor
that he knew what was best for him
and did it,
saving some joy
for the rest of his time in Japan. ♥
Your son is quite wise, Michele. ☀️
That’s really smart of him, he may have avoided rhabdo. There are many other marathons to finish, and you can’t get to Japan every day!
That is awesome awareness on his part and a bit of bravery mixed in. I came across a quote yesterday: if you are brave enough to say “goodbye’s” life will reward you with new “Hello’s.” Paulo Coehlo
I was taught to compare my suffering to that of others to see mine as lighter. Even though it feels like I have less empathy for myself, it helps me count blessings that I hadn’t realized. Once I notice my good fortune, beauty appears. 💐
My Ngoc, it’s addition by subtraction. God gave all of us different abilities to complement each other.
It has become my nature to still see beauty despite suffering. I have learned to look for the good, because there is always good – somewhere, somehow. I do pray that all who are suffering may find peace.
I find beauty in all of nature.