If you live in the United States, you know today is Independence Day. If you live outside of the USA, think lots of hotdog and hamburger grilling, potato salad buying, beer drinking, and camaraderie. The "independence" part of Independent Day got us thinking about ways to see beautiful. How can you give yourself time for your self? That led us to our nifty "50 ways to celebrate your independence"...and see beautiful in each.


1. Take a leisurely stroll around your neighborhood.
2. Find, purchase, and read a book you've been hearing about and wishing you could read.
3. Enjoy a bath with the book you just purchased.
4. Drive your car with no radio to give your mind a chance to relax (obviously not relaxing to the extent you're not paying attention to the road).
5. Explore your front or back yard or surrounding environment for new things.
6. Volunteer anywhere...though we have a few ideas below.
7. Write in a journal.
8. Linger on See Beautiful's new website: www.seebeautiful.com (sorry, we couldn't help it).
9. Go to a movie you've been wanting to see all by yourself.
10. Indulge in snacks at the movie theater.
11. Do a crossword puzzle.
12. Go to a yoga class. Hot yoga is REALLY relaxing.
13. Lay on the floor in your bedroom to stretch your back.
14. Visit a local park.
15. Lay in the grass at the local park.
16. Feed the ducks at the local park.
17. Visit a National Park.
18. Go hiking.
19. Enjoy a picnic.
20. Stop at a neighborhood lemonade stand.
21. Take your camera with you and snap photos of beautiful things you see.
22. Take a dog on a walk at your local dog shelter.
22. Buy yourself flowers.
23. Give yourself a manicure and pedicure.
24. Leave flowers on a friend's doorstep.
25. Plant a garden.
26. Make a meal from scratch.
27. Follow a family recipe from scratch.
28. Go to breakfast, lunch, or dinner by yourself.
29. Treat yourself to a massage.
30. Ride a bike.
31. Get streamers, a horn, a basket and flag for your bike.
32. Partake in a local 5k.
33. Over tip and enjoy your servers reaction.
34. Drink a cold glass of homemade iced tea or lemonade.
35. Put cucumber in your water for a refreshing glass of water.
36. Volunteer at your local food bank.
37. Rearrange your furniture.
38. Eat the veggies from your garden.
39. Drink a cold, cold beer.
40. Visit your local library.
41. Eat fresh watermelon, blueberries, strawberries...really any fruit in season.
42. Visit a local Farmer's Market.
43. Wander around the Farmer's Market and enjoy the scene.
44. Buy something eco-friendly for yourself!
45. Re-read your favorite blog post on this blog. :)
46. Do a handstand.
47. Dance while no one or everyone is watching. Who cares?
48. Send us the reason you're beautiful @ [email protected]
49. Eat an icecream sundae.
50. Sleep in.

The following video was featured on viewchange.org, a non-profit that highlights stories of hope and progress. In this video, Bharati Phaked Date, a 14-year-old girl, explains how a bike is her gateway to making change in the world.


To watch the short Pedal=Sight Video click here.


For many people around the world, a bicycle is a toy or vehicle to take you from one place to another. For the ultimate protagonist of her own world-changing story, Bharati's bike represents her ability to change the world. Those two wheels represent hope, empowerment, and change and they carry the mind and heart of a girl committed to seeing beautiful.


Even if you don't have time to watch the video, the message sent is loud and clear. Next time you peel out of your home on your trusty bicycle perhaps you'll think about change and hope and empower and smile because you're balancing on an object that is bringing change into our world.

Albeit wet, do you see a bit of a three-year-old golden spirit peeking back at you? We do. Who knew wetting the bed could help you see beautiful?

Where can you see beautiful this week?

Fancy statistical equation modeling found today, June 17th, to be the happiest day of the year. Whew-whoo! Do you feel happy? We feel happy! And, we think it's a brilliant reason to see beautiful!

Dr. Cliff Arnall, psychologist and life coach from the UK identified today as the happiest day of the year (and who are we to argue with something like that? We'd never deny a happy day in the life of anyone). Arnall has been quoted saying:

“The third Friday in June came out with the highest rating due to peaking happiness factors such as warm summer evenings outdoors, seeing friends more frequently, and excitement about holidays...People shouldn’t be asking ‘How much do I earn?’ but ‘How happy am I?’ The best piece of advice I can give is work less and spend more time with people you love. That will make you happiest.”

We think a question to throw into the mix might be, "How do I see beautiful within and around me?" 

Some ways to do that today:
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Well, it's the happiest day of the year so you can (1) share that fun finding with others; (2) look for ways this is the happiest day of the year; (3) make this the happiest day of the year for others; and (4) cheers to the happiest day of the year with friends and family!

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.
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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.

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.