People who come on Street Wisdom events are often surprised at seeing their everyday environment in a whole new light. Whether it’s noticing something they hadn’t seen before or seeing their surroundings in a more positive light. There is often a shift in their thinking.
One of the tune-ups involves trying to see the beauty in everything and it’s an eye-opening exercise. One of the great things about Street Wisdom is you don’t have to escape to a retreat or a mountain-top to find some calm. The exercises we guide you through enable you to easily change your perspective on your everyday surroundings – whether they’re conventionally beautiful or not.
Finding beauty in everything isn’t always easy. On a recent wander led by Wizard Andrew Paine, he quoted Street Wisdom founder David Pearl in his explanation of the exercise, “the opposite of love isn’t hate – it’s judgement.” This is an interesting concept when looking to see the best in everything. Why was I making judgements and what are these judgments based on? Noticing my mindset shift in going from judgment to admiration provided a powerful tool, which I now try to use more often. It made everything seem as if it was there for a reason and restored a sense of gratitude towards my surroundings. To finish on another David Pearl-ism “If you love the environment, it tends to love you back.”
TRY THIS: Next time you’re feeling a bit fed up, take 10 minutes out of your day and go for a stroll – wherever you are in the world. Look around and try to see the beauty in everything around you: the shop fronts, the people, the cars, even the rubbish bins. Resist the urge to judge anything or anyone. Give it a go and see how it changes your perspective. At the very least, it’ll likely put a smile on your face…
