The four-leaf-clover stood right out, like it deserved to be noticed. It screamed, "Notice me. I'm not like all the other clovers. I have extra parts. I'm special." And being different is part of what makes four-leaf-clovers lucky. Being uniquely different is what makes each of us beautiful. Our task is to see that beauty.

Special "lucky" surprise: While searching for fun facts about four-leaf-clovers, I came across something even better: The Four Leaf Clover Blog!!! The writer states that her purpose for creating the blog is to, "spend my life helping animals, the environment, and those in need. This blog is my current method for doing that." And we think it's absolutely beautiful.
​
Ways to see beautiful:

• Take off your shoes, play in the grass, and spend some time looking for different. It's beautiful.
• Visit The Four Leaf Clover Blog and see how one person is making a big difference. It's beautiful too.

There's an opportunity to see beautiful when one friend or family member shares a coveted recipe with you. Whether it's a recipe passed down from generation to generation or a just-tried-it-and-loved-it recipe, as you add the first ingredients to make it your own, it's special. It's special because someone thought of you while making it and wanted you to enjoy it as well.

The family recipes, passed down generation after generation are perhaps the most meaningful. If you're lucky enough to own a recipe book, card, or slip of paper with the original chef's handwriting there's something nostalgic about simply holding it in your hands. You know the chef stood in the kitchen just as you're doing and often we can remember what she/he looked like as the ingredients married. And even though it's rare to make it half as well as the original chef, perhaps the memories are the secret ingredient in those "old faithful" recipes that keep us coming back for more.

We wanted to share one of our "Old Failthful's" with you and we don't expect you to understand the story or historical significance behind it, but we invite you to make your own memories with this recipe and hope you enjoy!

BLUEBERRY BUCKLE  

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup shortening
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups fresh blueberries
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup butter, softened

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease one 8x8 inch pan.
2. Cream together 3/4 cup sugar, shortening, and egg.
3. In a separate bowl mix together 2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir into sugar mixture, alternating with milk. Stir in blueberries. Pour into greased 8x8 inch pan.
4. To make topping: Combine 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, cinnamon, and butter. Sprinkle over cake batter.
5. Bake at 375 degree F (190 degrees C) for 25-30 minutes.*

Best when served warm with a giant scoop of vanilla ice cream. YUM!
Ways to See Beautiful:

• The sharing of a recipe from one to another.
• The sound of the first sizzle from a favorite "old faithful" recipe.
• The smell of an "old faithful" recipe that brings back the best of memories with you and the chef.
• The first bite of the "old faithful" that has you thankful for the chefs' willingness to share with you.
• The opportunity to keep the giving cycle alive, by finding one of your favorite recipes and sharing with someone else.

*Recipe retrieved from allrecipes.com. Click here for the link to the recipe and information related to nutritional value.

One lone dog bowl, thoughtfully placed next to the sidewalk, was there to rejuvenate and it offered an opportunity to see beautiful. Providing water for passer-by dogs wasn't expected. In fact, it was the fact that the dog bowl was absent from other driveways that made it such a striking act of thoughtfulness. What's even more beautiful? When walking through the neighborhood on the equally-hot-next day, the dog bowl was there again, and this time, there was ice in the bowl. That's right, ice! The dog bowl with water was one thing, the ice, well that kindness is just beautiful! Someone wanted to make sure it was just the right temperature for our puppy companions who aimlessly try to please us in this world.

What if you did something unexpectedly nice today, for animals or humans? What if you set out a dog bowl (water or ice-filled)? Held open an elevator? Bought the person's lunch behind you in the drive through? Helped someone carry his/her groceries to the car? This list is endless. The opportunities are beautiful. There's beauty in the unexpected. Who knew an ice-filled dog bowl could help one see it and then inspire? Wow, it did.

The organization, We Give Books, is changing the way we think about reading children's literature. If you read books with children (or know someone who reads to children), you're in a position to donate a book to the charity of your choice for every book you read. Here's what you do:

1. Visit www.wegivebooks.org/
2. Choose a book from their FREE digital library of children's books OR choose a campaign to support.
3. Read the book online!
4. Read it over and over again, or pick a new one, enjoying the comfort of knowing that every time you read that book or a new book, one will be donated to the charity you designate.
5. See beautiful in the fact that you'll be part of the movement to donate hundreds of thousands of children's books to non-profit organizations around the world!

If you teach, you can use this site everyday in your classroom. If you're a parent of a child under 10 years of age and reading this blog, you have the opportunity to read a book on your computer, smartphone, or iPad with your child. If you need to deviate from the world of adult reading and want something to read with less than 20 pages, you can read knowing you're donating a tangible book to a non-profit organization.
There is research that supports the more books in a child's home, regardless of his/her parents' education, occupation, and class, influences his/her academic success (Evans, Keley, Sikora, & Treiman, 2010; Light & Pillemer, 1984). Children with more than 300 books in their home receive an average of three years more schooling than children from bookless homes. Further, this finding holds equal across nations (Evans et al., 2010). Thus, We Give Books can bring hundreds of books into a household, school, or childcare center at the click of a button.
Feel free to share this opportunity to see beautiful with any children's book reader or lover you know!

References:
Evans, M.D.R., Keley, J., Sikora, J., & Treiman, D. (2010). Family scholarly culture and
educational success: Books and schooling in 27 nations. Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, 28(2), 171-197.
​
Light, R. J., & Pillemer, D. B. (1984). Summing up: The science of reviewing research. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

One mother was reminded of this simple truth the other day as she watched her 10-month-old son play with a tennis ball on the kitchen floor.  He would pick up and throw the ball, then crawl to where it had rolled.  She was delighted to watch him learn how the ball worked and what he had to do to continue this little game he was playing with himself.  

Then, the two dogs who share their home with this new “little creature” came into the picture as they realized that, yet another of “their toys” had been taken over.  Now, the dogs USED to be “the babies” until “the baby” came along, and they have been slowly but surely accepting him for 10 months now. 

When the mother saw the dogs approaching, her thought was, “I guess I’ll have to pick the baby up and the game will end.”  However, she watched with joy as her son and two dogs took turns playing with the ball!  The boy continued throwing the ball, but instead of him “fetching” after it, the dogs did the work. The boy and dogs quickly learned their roles in the game and for the first time since the baby was born, the mother sat and watched the three of them play, in unity…and all because of a ball.

So, the next time you see a simple ball-think unity!  Is unity beautiful?…YOU BET!!!! 
​

In response to the survey question, "What sorts of things do you collect?," one beautiful woman wrote, "I collect dust." She was referring to the busyness of life impeding her ability to keep up with dusting that top shelf in her living room. We get it. Life is busy. Life is also beautiful.

Is it possible that a thin layer of dust every now and then might be reminding us that we have better things to do with our lives than dust?

Thought: Perhaps those dust bunnies peeking at you from behind the television aren't mocking you, but celebrating the fact that you're busy enjoying life. So, the next time you see dust collecting in crevasses of your home, you might just smile as you retrieve your trusty ole' feather duster. It means you're a dust collector.
​
And being a dust collector means you see beautiful.

When you pass potatoes in the grocery store, how often do you pause to think, "Beautiful."? Perhaps they are...
The following quote, found in  The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society was shared by a See Beautiful™ reader. While she was reading, this passage reminded her of our mission (and we were thrilled that it jumped out at her!).
​"In every nook, I find little things that tell me about her.  She was a noticer, Sidney, like me, for all the shelves are lined with shells, bird feathers, dried sea grasses, pebbles, eggshells, and the skeleton of something that might be a bat.  They're just bits that were lying on the ground, that anyone else would step over or on, but she saw they were beautiful and brought them home." (pg. 166)
There are several reasons why this passage, book, and the Hot Potato! game itself can help us see beautiful:

1. The passage: Like a potato, many people step over or pass by truly beautiful aspects of life without noticing. Today, you might look for something beautiful that many have already walked over. Take a moment to explore why the seemingly insignificant is truly exquisite. 
2. The book: Without describing the plot of the book, one of the beautiful pieces is the underlying theme validating the benefits of social support structures as a necessity. Human interaction and friendship offer hope and strength to survive the daily ins-and-outs of troubled times. This might remind you of the Socks for Japan effort noted in the blog last week. The simple act of offering socks brought a glimmer of hope to the lives of those who desperately needed it.
3. The Game:  You might remember the Hot Potato! game to be high-pressure and fast, but we think the premise of the game is beautiful: Just as quickly as you receive the potato, you have to give it away. What if we applied this strategy in aspects of our lives? What if, without much thought, giving was automatic and innate? With all we receive, we give. Further, there's no strategy to Hot Potato! besides giving away the potato. There's really no strategy to giving in life either. It's quite simply a beautiful thing to give.

Perhaps those potatoes sitting in the grocery store really are our opportunity to see beautiful. Perhaps they're our reminder to give, without thinking, and with the enthusiasm of a giddy five-year-old playing a hysterical game.