So, into everything we do, we put a part of our life and of ourselves. If we put in the beautiful part, it will not only be perceived, but will be of help to others in their unfolding, and may be the means of calling out the beautiful in those in whom the sense of beauty is not yet awakened.

We do not at first, by looking at them, appreciate the beauty in sunrise or sunset, but the looking at them often will serve to awaken in us beauty of thought, which in turn reveals the beauty in the sunset. So, when looking at a beautiful picture, the mind dwells upon it, and thus brings itself into touch with what the picture was meant to represent - the more beautiful side of life - and in doing so, seems to call out the latent beauty which is potential in all life.

So all thought that is beautiful serves, in a sense, to educate the mind and call out the potential beauty in the life of man. That is why, no matter what we may do, we should be careful to make it as beautiful as we are capable of, for it is a symbol of what we feel and think, and therefore of our inner selves. It shows something of the life of the one making it, and serves to call out a corresponding sense of beauty and inspiration in the lives of others.

When we go into the country there are many things that attract us to them as being beautiful, while certain other things we may overlook. The flowers in the springtime perhaps appeal to us strongly, but we do not always think of the beauty of the growing grass; we do not always think of the beauty that is to be found in what we call weeds. A few years ago the field daisy was looked upon as a weed, and there was little idea of beauty connected with it. All these things have their own beauty; in fact, if we examine anything carefully we will find that it has a certain beauty all its own that has hitherto been invisible to us. While we see the beauty in the frees, yet some of them appeal to us as being more beautiful than others. The beauty of one tree is not that of another, but each has a peculiar beauty of its own. So no two people express life the same way, yet there is something beautiful to be found in the life of every person; but we do not always find it, because we do not seek it. So often, in looking at things in nature, if some things appeal to us as being beautiful, we give all our thought and attention to them, and lose sight of many others that are equally beautiful.

Then let us strive to find beauty in the things in which we have not as yet discovered it. Sometimes we are delighted with the songs of the birds. There are other birds that do not sing, and we are not as much interested in them. A bird that has no song has certain other things to commend it to us, and we will find beauty of form or of plumage instead. And so you will find beauty in everything if you look for it, because beauty is written into everything in this world. If anything appears homely, look deeper into it, and you will certainly find beauty in it somewhere. You will find beauty of color, when perhaps beauty of form as we understand it is lacking, and if there is neither beauty of color or of form, there is always to be found something else, such as a faithful or a kind nature, which may mean far more than any beauty of form or of color. There is nothing in all the great universe that totally lacks beauty; therefore "seek, and ye shall find."

And now, in order to be practical, what is this love of beauty going to do for us? In what way is it going to help us to find a fuller and more complete life? It is going to help us, first of all, in this way: We can not find beauty in anything without that beauty having been unfolded in ourselves; therefore, the more of beauty we see in the external world, the more wonderfully we have developed and brought ourselves into a condition of mind whereby we can actually become helpful to others.

The sense of beauty should always convey to the mind the sense of harmony. Sometimes a thing that is beautiful conveys the idea of harmony and strength, or it may sometimes combine that of beauty and joy. There is always a union of beauty with something else, but we are not able to make the distinction unless we have first made it in ourselves. One may apparently talk intelligently on a subject without having any realization of the vital truth of what he is talking about, tho he may in time awake to a realization of the inner truth. We are brought back to the point that everything outside of us is as it is, because of that which is within us; there must always be the inner understanding of life before there is an outer understanding. We come in touch with things in the outer world without knowing anything about the wonder and mystery of their life and beauty, until a knowledge of that life and beauty has unfolded in ourselves. Then we see the wonder and mystery of the great outer world in which we live.

So this love of the beautiful shows us something of our own development, and it helps to bring about a state of mental harmony. One can never get a beautiful thought of life when the mind is unrestful or discordant, therefore the sense of beauty brings rest and harmony into the mind, and keeps it open for a still larger degree of beauty. That is the reason why we should cultivate this sense of beauty in life and why we should seek for it in everything. We should never allow the mind to become distracted, or to have its attention turned from the beautiful by anything which mars beauty. Some people, when looking at a beautiful picture, will see a slight imperfection in it. Whenever they look at that picture again, the first thing they see and point out to others is that imperfection. We want to let go of that side. We want to get the whole picture, and the spirit behind it, and not fix our attention on the little technical mistakes which are but superficial. It is the beauty of color, of form, of conception, of the composition as a whole, that should appeal to us. If we allow the mind to pick flaws in people or in things, we lose all sense of proportion. We see only the little flaw, and miss the beauty that is the real picture; and when we let the small error creep into the mind, we miss the beauty of the character of the person. So the mind is taken up in looking for the motes, as we might say, and the motes cause the mind to become un-restful. How often in listening to music, if the performer or singer strikes a false note, it is that note of which we remember to talk about. That note has apparently made the greater impression, and not the beauty of song or of expression that is the real part of the music. Annoyance at the small thing has made us close our ears to that which is infinitely greater.

We get out of life all the harmony, all the joy, all the perfection, all the beauty, that we put into it or bring to it. We can not find the beauty in the outer world until we find it in the inner one. Everything will become beautiful to us if our quest for beauty is thorough, for as we find the inner beauty we shall find its expression in everything without.

We shall feast our eyes in the beauty of the springtime; we shall rejoice in the beauty of summer; be glad in the beauty of autumn; and delight our minds in the beauty of winter. We shall see beauty when the sun is shining, when the birds sing, when the flowers blossom, and all life will sing its wondrous song of beauty. And we shall give forth beauty in our own lives, for these various expressions of it in nature are in man's life - written deep into his own character.