On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me –

9 wooden beauties

8 family trips, 7 Bruins beating Trojans (38-28!), 6 Asian Orbs, 5 manger scenes! 4 major awards, 3 dancing pigs, 2 handmade bells, and a portrait to put on the tree.

What is really beautiful? Is it in the Sistine Chapel or an ethereal photo of a hummingbird in flight? Is it found in a friendship of foes or in an exquisite chocolate soufflé? Maybe it’s in a perfectly sung note, a yellow dot on blue canvas, or a gilded cross.

Of course, beauty can be all those things. But what makes one thing more beautiful than another is completely dependent on the value ascribed by each individual.

This is how commonplace things or people become extraordinary. Case in point, my dad found in nature, an ordinary and yet remarkable stone. (He’s an avid viewing stone collector.) This particular stone is worth a small house! Someone actually offered him this amount, but he refused to give it up.

And if a beholder thinks someone is pretty awesome, the one who’s being admired actually starts believing it. Their whole demeanor changes. They become confident, maybe gracious, and even joyful.

This season, let us see beauty. Open your eyes and hearts to that which is beautiful: a life, a story, an ornament.

On the tenth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me – visit here tomorrow to see.