SCAVENGER HUNT

My blog friend,Susan, challenged her readers to go on a scavenger hunt with her. The following are her words in italics with my submissions following:

The "Art" of the world around us, naturally occurring and only waiting to be discovered . . . I think taking a moment to have a relationship with 7 items of beauty is a good start.  I'll take notes and bring you back my findings next week.  

(I really hope some of you might share yours as well...?)

So -- here's my challenge to you, Dear Reader -- 

I want you to find:

1.  A beautiful line 

(could be the curl of a wisp of smoke, the curve of a lover's smile, or the silhouette of a tree-branch against a January sky, for instance)

Winter ice crystals

2.  A beautiful sound 

(maybe a laugh, a symphony, birdsong, or something you've never heard before)

JDB’s giggle

3. A beautiful color
(even winter gray can be lovely, when adequately savored)

Flicker helping herself to left-over plums

4. A beautiful turn-of-phrase 

(pay attention to the dance of words for a change, and notice the ones that create an immediate spark when they brush up against one another)

19 Hast thou given the horse strength? hast thou clothed his neck with thunder?

20 Canst thou make him afraid as a grasshopper? the glory of his nostrils is terrible.

21 He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength: he goeth on to meet the armed men.

22 He mocketh at fear, and is not affrighted; neither turneth he back from the sword.

23 The quiver rattleth against him, the glittering spear and the shield.

24 He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage: neither believeth he that it is the sound of the trumpet.

25 He saith among the trumpets, Ha, ha; and he smelleth the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.     Job 39:19-25  KJV

5.  A beautiful thought
(think one yourself, or look and listen -- people have them all the time)

Age is not determined by the passing of years, but by our reactions to new ideas—our resistance to change.  People grow old through their encasement in the past—not in their hopes for the future.  Years may wrinkle the skin; but to give up faith, courage, ambition, enthusiasm for the future, and the spark of continuing growth wrinkles the soul.

The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely, or unhappy is to go outside somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God.  Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy amidst the simple beauty of nature.  As long as this exists, and it certainly always will, I know that then there will always be comfort for every sorrow, whatever the circumstances may be.  Anne Frank

 6.  A beautiful movement 

(particularly expressive of grace, or energy, or emotion)

7.  A beautiful moment 

(the kind that makes you want to hit "pause" or perhaps even "rewind")

 Son, Bobert, and his wife finishing the Logan to Jackson bicycle race.  Two hundred and six miles, three states, one day.

Finding and listing these seven items of beauty was a challenge but not in the way I expected.  The difficulty was narrowing my list down to one entry in each category.  Thanks, Susan, for the reminder that beauty exists in abundance.