RL4B: Relentlessly Looking For Beauty

It's been a while since my last post, but that doesn't mean that beauty has been absent. In fact, when I think back over the last couple weeks, one thing continues to make me smile... friendship. I can't say I have a large circle of friends, or that I'm the life of the party when it comes to entertaining, but I am lucky (blessed, even) to have a few nice (I mean really nice) friends with whom I can enjoy a good meal and some encouraging conversation. About this time of year, marketing departments and educators alike are in "back-to-school" mode, which in the past for me meant planning, supply shopping and mentally preparing for a new crop of students and classes. However, this year is different. I'm not doing all those things, because I'm not going back to teaching. My health condition has brought that chapter of my life to a close, but it has also brought renewed perspective on how important it is to cultivate and maintain friendships. So rat...

The 'L' in RL4B typically stands for looking , but in some cases (probably more than I think), it can represent listening -- as in Relentless Listening for Beauty. You only have to close your eyes to experience and focus on the sounds and messages that are important. I cannot claim that all sounds are always beautiful, but even the common noises that we try to tune out can become a thing of beauty. I was at lunch today with my husband in a popular restaurant. As the noon hour progressed, so did the din of conversation. In fact, it became so loud that we were having difficulty hearing each other across the table. After our burgers came, I was busy giving my pickles to my date when an older woman caught my attention amid the noise. (When I later asked, even my husband did not hear her.) "Ma'am?" I am not used to being called ma'am , but I looked up anyway, unsure if she was truly talking to me. I made eye contact and smiled as a way of acknowledging...