Beauty Triumphs Over Adversity

I don’t remember experiencing beauty in the home where I grew up.

Perhaps it was hidden by the cigarette smoke and chaos that permeated every room, but I’ve learned from the deep contrast of my life experiences – a childhood filled with abuse and an adulthood filled with beauty – that there can be gifts in adversity. No doubt the wounding in my childhood left its imprint, but that very suffering is what launched me on my search for serenity and hope. Along the way, I accidentally stumbled upon the power of beauty to launch a love affair with life.

Today, I write to you from my home on the edge of the San Francisco Bay. The sunlight sparkles on the ultramarine blue water. As I listen to the foghorns, I see a big, white fog-filled snake slip under the Golden Gate Bridge and over the glossy green hills of Marin. I stand in awe of the beauty that fills my life today, and of the healing I have known through its grace. It has shielded me from the anxiety that shadowed my life and proved to me I was not a victim.

Instead, life called me to develop an eye for beauty that fills me with bliss, gratitude and transcendence. It has been essential to my well-being and survival. As German philosopher Nietzsche said, beauty triumphs over the suffering inherent in life.

Now I am passionate about living in beauty, and I nurture a deep respect for it wherever it appears. Whether through the simple act of filling a vase with fresh lime green leaves cut from my yard, designing a fireplace unique to the room it’s in, or opening my home to share the angelic voices of the San Francisco Boys Chorus accompanied by world class musicians.

I have manifested much in my life through keeping the vision of beauty at the forefront of my thoughts so I may honor it with my words and actions. Through this vision, my life has evolved beyond my wildest expectations – from a difficult childhood in a tract house behind a strip mall near the Jimmy Dean Sausage Plant, to my life today as an artist who is privileged to be able to create beauty in the homes and lives of others.

Wake up to the beauty in your life today; it is everywhere around you if you just stop and become present in the moment. It’s available through all your senses when you awaken to its call. There is nothing more spiritual or healing than stopping to appreciate beauty. The more you revere it, the more it will come to you.