Beautiful surroundings
Beauty or Beast?
Beauty: Oxford dictionary – A combination of qualities as shape, proportion, colour,[… ] that delights the eye.
Beautiful: delighting the eye or the ear.
The concept of beauty is something that has occupied philosophers – and lovers over the centuries. It is a quality that is, according to Steiner, recognised by our soul. It is not an intellectual concept, though we recognise our own judgement of what is or isn’t beautiful. Whatever the philosophy or science, I know through my experience that perceived beauty uplifts and energises me.
As a gardener I am always pursuing some ideal of beauty – in the form and colour of flower, leaf, shrubs and trees. Roses particularly attract me. There is so much variety. Some have the most amazingly complex form. Others are just perfect in the simplicity of just 5 petals and a glow of golden anthers. Earlier in the year I went with friends to see a tree park full of flowering cherries and magnolias. Every tree was breathtaking in its variety shape and colour.
How beautiful is the area/room/factory where you work? This is where you spend the majority of your working life, your business – minimum of 5/7, often 7/7? Most of your life in fact. Is your office an inviting, welcoming space? Does every item there have a happy memory associated with it? It is clean? Has it got in a muddle, with clutter everywhere? Is there good natural light? How comfortable is your chair? These things may seem trivial, but if you don’t like them you will experience just a bit of extra stress, often subconsciously. Overtime this will impact your focus, productivity, health, creativity, and profitability.
This as important for the sole practitioner/entrepreneur as it is for a multinational business in finance or manufacturing. It is not a new idea but the fundamental philosophy of the Arts and Crafts movement which produced the most wonderful art, furniture and houses. Everything we see in our environment should be useful or beautiful, preferably both.
https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/arts-and-crafts-an-introduction
Wendy Guilfoyle https://www.healthresolutions.co.uk
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