A few years ago a beautiful woman coined the term "a happy" for out-of-the-blue gifts (or "happy's") she would give to people. If you were the recipient, you didn't expect it, though it most certainly made you feel loved. While shopping, if she noticed something that made her think of someone else, "a happy" was discovered. Many "happy" recipients started doing the same thing in a "Pay It Forward" sort of movement. "A Happy" doesn't have to cost money. It could be the simple act of leaving a "thinking about you" or "have a great day" post-it note message on a co-worker's door or picking flowers from your yard for a friend or neighbor. It could mean leaving a "thank you" note in your mailbox for your mailman/mailwoman, or leaving a little extra tip for your server when you're out to eat.

Thank you to our See Beautiful™ contributing author, Lindsay Criss McCollum, who provided the See Beautiful Post for today.

"One of our Canadian friends is decorating her newborn baby's room with postcards from loved ones living around the world. It's a terrific idea to surround a child with images of people and places from foreign lands. Even better is the idea to surround a child with loving notes from friends on the back of such images. Surely the collection of postcards the baby receives will be special to her when she gets older. It's a wonder how the images and messages will influence her as she grows and learns about the world herself.

After choosing a card of Vienna to send to the baby, the daily routine of passing hundreds of postcards on the streets of Vienna is different now somehow. While no longer annoying obstacles to dodge, they have become thinking posts. Each card is now something to consider. One wonders, who will buy the card? What will be written on it? Who will receive it? And what influence will it have? Sure, there is the chance that it might not have much of an influence at all. But, considering the power that a postcard does have is quite beautiful isn't it?"
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This is a postcard received  from the See Beautiful™ contributor herself:

It is only fitting that the first post regarding "seeing beautiful" include children, laughter, and creativity. If you haven't yet had the treat to watch the video, Kittens Inspired by Kittens, well, get ready to smile, laugh, and perhaps if you're laughing as hard as many I know did, even cry. If you have seen the video, you're in great company. I can never watch this enough and it makes me appreciate the following things that are beautiful:

• Children
• Children's Creativity
• Laughter
• Reading
• Inspiration
• Parent(s) who can stop and capture beauty when they see it

The purpose of this blog is to invite readers to see beautiful. Too often, we see sadness or we're too busy to really "see" at all. Pop culture would like us to think beauty exists in, or is defined by, reality t.v. shows or magazine covers. Bad news overwhelmingly occupies daily story lines and newspaper headings. In an effort to capture some of the beauty that exists at every moment all over the world, this blog will highlight some of it.