We Live in a Beautiful World

Spread out a blanket on the living room floor and eat Tai Food straight out of the take-out boxes.Turn out the Lights and Light some candles. Share a bottle of red wine with someone you love. Re-read Hamlet or Moby Dick, because there is nothing like cracking open one of the classics on a cold winter day. Buy a sketch book and draw and draw and draw. Don't rip out any of the pages. Keep your mistakes. Make out Your Christmas cards. Send one to someone who wouldn't expect one. Try a new recipe and pass it along to a friend. Hand-make at least one of your Christmas gifts this year. Write a haiku and hang it on your fridge. Invite a neighbor over for coffee. Sit back and observe the world. Do some people watching. Take note of the beautiful things around you that you would have otherwise overlooked. Visit a city or town you've never been to. Ask a local where a good restaurant is. Take a long stroll. Donate some of your old books to your local library. Adopt a pet to take care of. If you already have a pet, tell them you love them every single day.Take pictures. Document your life. Make a new friend. Give an enemy a second chance. Do something creative every day. Doodling while your on the phone counts. Make a family tradition. Even if you don't have any kids. Leave a love note on the kitchen counter. Handle every heart like it will break. Be kind. Take a vacation. Stay long enough to miss home. If you can't take a vacation Research a place you would like to visit and cook up some of its native food. Explore your own city. Try out a hole-in-the-wall restaurant or support a local shop. Wear red lipstick during the day. If you are a man, wear a red tie. Welcome the holidays. They are coming whether we are ready or not. Sing. In the shower. In the car. For a crowd. Go to the beach. It is so different in the winter. Bundle up. Watch old family movies. Bring the pictures down from the attic. Make Christmas tree garland out of popcorn. Eat the leftovers. Build a fire. Sit by it until it goes out. Roast marshmallows. Or hotdogs. Or both. Don't let the gray sky days get you down. Buy a bright scarf. Wear it to work. Wear it with your pajamas. Take bubble baths. Let the steam fill up your bathroom. Break out your crayons and colored pencils and draw a beach with pink sand. A blue moose. Or a Polka-dot tree. Embrace the perspective of a child. They have a lot to teach and a lot to learn. Like good ol' Picasso Said: Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.


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