There are moments as a mother that I feel depleted; unable to garner the energy to comfort another crying child or plan another meal. I try and “cowboy up” and push through, but often this physical and emotional weakness stems from a spiritual deficiency. When we feel drained, what we often lack is beauty. What is beauty? There have been many books written on the subject, but simply put – beauty speaks to and enlivens our soul.
“Beauty matters. It is not just a subjective thing but a universal need of human beings. If we ignore this need we find ourselves in a spiritual desert.”
Roger Scruton
To truly invigorate my soul I must stop and partake in the beauty which surrounds me. This may be as simple as appreciating how adorable my toddler is, or really tasting that piece of watermelon. The wonderful thing about appreciating beauty, especially for an overworked mother, is that it usually requires stillness rather than activity.
“Certainly work is not always required of a man. There is such a thing as a sacred idleness, the cultivation of which is now fearfully neglected.”
George MacDonald
We must make time to seek out and appreciate that which makes life worth living- real and living things. Beautiful things. We can reconnect with the soul of life and forget for a brief moment the ugly things which consume us. As we listen to inspiring music, gaze at a sunset, appreciate artwork- we are able to disconnect from the stress and worry of a materialistic and competitive world and feel alive.
Wilhelm Amberg, German, 1822 – 1899
Resources:
Beauty: A Very Short Introduction https://www.amazon.com/dp/0199229759/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_-Y-qFbA0QE1JY
The Philosophy of Motherhood 
Beauty … a babbling brook, a Monet, a Philosophy of Motherhood post.
Beauty … can’t live without it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I never even knew who Roger Scruton was before today. Thank you for sharing! “I have shown some of the ways in which artists and architects have followed the call of beauty. In doing so, they have given our world meaning. The masters of the past recognized that we have spiritual needs as well as animal appetites. For Plato, beauty was a path toward God. While thinkers of the enlightenment saw art and beauty as ways in which we save ourselves from meaningless routines and rise to a higher level. But art turned its back on beauty. It became a slave to the consumer culture, feeding our pleasures and addictions, and wallowing in self disgust. That, it seems to me, is the lesson of the ugliest forms of modern art and architecture. They do not show reality but take revenge on it. Spoiling what might have been a home and leaving us unconsoled and alienated in a spiritual desert.” Roger Scruton
LikeLiked by 2 people
You might enjoy this post I did on the day of his passing. A great man. https://philosophyofmotherhood.com/2020/01/13/goodbye-to-the-beautiful-sir-roger-scruton/
LikeLike
“When we feel drained, what we often lack is beauty.” LOVE this. It is so simple and so true.
LikeLiked by 1 person