Whatever beauty is, it is always there for the taking. She will give you the shirt off her back if you'll let her.
Curious this topic is being discussed now--could it be spring that fully wakes us up?
Anyway, here's a list of things that stimulate my sense of beauty--and the list could be one that would keep me here at this keyboard all day, but I'll just jot down a few that have been constant sources of that sense of beauty being aroused:
Jacqueline DuPré's recordings of the Elgar cello concerto...and nearly anything else she's recorded;
Milstein's recordings--anything he plays--sublime beauty;
Beethoven's late string quartets especially;
Brahms' symphonies;
Mozart's Linz symphony and his Requiem;
The 2nd Rachmaninov piano concerto;
The Bruch g minor violin concerto;
The Mendelssohn violin concerto;
The Prokofiev violin concertos;
The Beethoven violin concerto--so beautiful it was, one time when I heard it at a live performance, I had to stuff my tears into a handkerchief because I felt I would weep aloud with great sobs;
The 7th of Beethoven's symphonies holds a special place in my heart for sheer beauty;
Beethoven's Emperor piano concerto--again, hard to hold back tears in live performance...
...many, many more great works of music
Practicing piano in Rocky Run church alone and hearing the pure sound move through that accoustically near-perfect old country church--watching the light come through the stained glass windows--feeling the blessed silence and peace in the place there...
Nature itself in all its seasons, though spring does hold special power--but even in winter, even beyond first fall of snow, just examining the great variety of winter bud shapes on branches brings about both a sense of beauty and wonder at the variety...
Early leaves--watching the first shapes of baby leaves--ah!--the white oaks in early stages are tiny red leaves covered in fine white hair, and soon after turn lime-colored. I used to freeze samples of early spring leaves--freezer was filled with leaf samples--and no food in it--just leaves. My daughter thought this was normal as a child and wondered that other people didn't have leaves in their freezers.
Dayliles--all types--the extraordinary ways they propogate themselves--hi, Helen!
Creeks, ponds, rivers, the ocean, waterfalls--the water on our planet, still, moving, thundererously falling, rain, storms, and, yes, snow...
The sun on my face, the wind through my hair, the grass beanth my bare feet, the farm, the grove...
A dear friend taking me somewhere new to see in the great outdoors--having that friend show me a place of beauty known to him or her unknown to me till then--that act of kindness itself is a moment of beauty as well as the place..
The works of Dickinson and Frost...
Finishing a poem, sending it to a dear friend, and receiving words of having moved the friend--that is eau de vie to me...
Speaking of, sharing a glass of brandy with an old man--that is beauty, too...
The faces of children in wonder and joy...especially dear to me those times of live performance before their parents--what joy!
Hearing Grandma Etta still laugh in these her final days...
Lots more specifics I could mention, but the whole of beauty is that which awakens a sense of wonder and joy in my too often too busy soul and causes me to stop and be happy to be alive--and so grateful that I still breathe.
Beatific regards,
WW
PS: Must add: Preparing either whole duck cooked in a kettle of peanut oil or sauerbraten marinated for five days with gingersnap gravy and red cabbage for beloved ones...acts of beauty that stimulate anticipation...
