By Jennifer Pastiloff.
I am so excited that Beauty Hunting is now a thing in the world. As you may or may not know, that’s the title of my book. Beauty Hunting. In fact, type in beautyhunting.com and you’ll see that it leads you….HERE! I want to make the idea of Beauty Hunting viral-a world of people scouring the earth for what lights them up, for what makes then nod their head Yes Yes Yes, for what makes them never want to give up searching for what is beautiful in a world that is sometimes not very forgiving. In a world that is filled with pain and loss and sadness and war and trash- to actively seek beauty.
And look, there isn’t just pain and loss and sadness and trash- there are births and cups of really good coffee and big wide ass smiles and flowers that smell so good you have to stop in your tracks. There’s all sorts of good stuff on the surface and also sometimes, very deep under the surface.
My friend, the beloved comedian Steve Bridges, died suddenly a couple years ago. It was not beautiful.
But, through his death I met his sister Liz and she is now one of my closest friends. (She also dyes my grey hair monthly, so there’s that.) She even gave a lecture at my last Manifestation Retreat. I didn’t know her while he was alive. The day after he died I stood on his doorstep, on his Gone Surfing doormat, and there she was when the door opened. And here she is.
So there was a gift in the loss of him. Liz is the beauty I found. Our friendship flourished. Thank you, Steve.
Sometimes we have to look really closely and pay close attention for it because it doesn’t seem to be there. Beauty.
But it is.
And it’s imperative that we never stop searching for it.
It’s why I created the 5 Most Beautiful Things Project a couple years ago. I picked the number 5 because it was tweetable. (Hey, come on, I’m living in the same social media age as you are) and because I thought 5 was doable. Stop as often as you can and write down the 5 most beautiful things to you at that moment. #5mostbeautifulthings. << (It can change your life if you play this game. It will force you to look at someone and seek out what is beautiful about them rather than “I don’t like their shirt, her voice is annoying, he is an asshole, her nose is big.”)
Seriously. Try it. Imagine you are going to give a note to each person you talk to with the 5 most beautiful things about them. We actually do this at my retreat and it’s profound. It will shift the way you engage with people. You won’t be looking for what annoys you. (This is not to say that people will cease to annoy you. But still. Do your best to find what is beautiful.)
Beauty Hunting is what I had to do to survive.
I’ve had a lot of loss and then hearing loss and depression and all sorts of things that tried to get me to stop living. You might relate. Maybe you’ve also had a lot of shit. Most of us have. I had to go, “Jen, get your ass out of bed and look at people. Find what is beautiful or you will never get off that mattress, you will never quit this waitressing job that sucks your soul out with each coffee refill, you will never stop feeling sorry for yourself. Get up. Go. Look for it. It’s there.”
And I did. I found beauty everywhere. People often comment on how many interesting people I meet and on all these amazing experiences and encounters that I have and how coincidental it is. Au contraire. I hunt for these experiences and people. I make it my life’s work.
So, I have been asking myself how I can spread this movement. My book is on its way (my agent Linda will be happy to read this sentence.) But in the meantime, I challenge you to be a beauty hunter.
I decided that I will give away a prize for Beauty Hunting, because hey, that’s always fun. Prizes.
Here are this week’s rules.
Must follow @jenpastiloff and @ashapateldesigns on Instagram. (This is only an instagram contest for now so perhaps consider creating an account if you don’t have one if you want to play.) Tag both of us in your post and use hashtag #beautyhunting. Hashtags are dumb, I know, I know. But we need to find the posts somehow and they sort it out, so use it, k?
Please do not forget to tag both of us in the post in the comments.
The more creative you are, the better. Write as much as you want (or that will fit in the space provided.) Post as many times as you can! Asha will pick a winner next Monday September 8th. Please leave your 5 most beautiful things in the comment section below, as well. Get your bow and arrow ready to hunt for what is beautiful.
If you look, you will find it.
Tweet this:
I am #beautyhunting with @jenpastiloff.
Jennifer Pastiloff, Beauty Hunter, is the founder of The Manifest-Station. Check out jenniferpastiloff.com for all retreat listings and workshops to attend one in a city near you. Next up: South Dakota, NYC, Dallas, Kripalu Center For Yoga & Health, Tuscany.She is also leading a Writing + The Body Retreat with Lidia Yuknavitch Jan 30-Feb 1 in Ojai (1 spot left.) She tweets/instagrams at @jenpastiloff.
Love, love, love this. .project and concept. Right now it is sweet rescue cat next to me sleeping on my desk, the beautiful breeze coming in the window, the cows across the fence and the many birds making their beautiful chirping sounds.
Your posts get me through the toughest of days. Love your style and outlook on the world. Keep on.
Today, it is the opportunity to start again, my nephew’s laugh, cherry Twizzlers, the musty books at the Strand, and unexpected kindnesses.
1) my 4 older and wiser sisters
2) my Mom who will turn 82 Sept 27th
3) fluffy white clouds in Florida
4) my beautiful Friends :Yvonne and Veronica who inspire me everyday
5) the warm sun
1. My peaceful home. It rises up to greet me when I get home from the day.
2. My job as a high school teacher. It’s so hard and exhausting, but I make a difference.
3. The hole within. The one that makes me make stupid ass decisions that I can learn from. Cheers to being imperfect.
4. My drive. I get a lot accomplished.
5. My daughter’s new teacher. We, her and I feel safe.
The 5 most beautiful things I see/hear right now:
1) My colleague’s fast and steady keyboard clicks — because when he types like that, I know he’s working on one of his side projects, the creative stuff that feeds his soul, which makes me happy for him (and also makes me happy for me, because it’s an indication that we have a slow day here at the “real” job!)
2) My iPhone. What an amazing and magical piece of technology that I wouldn’t have believed could exist just 10 years ago. Plus it lets me get on Facebook and connect with people I adore all day long 😉
3) My favorite Pilot red pen. There’s just something about a pen that writes “nice” that makes me happy.
4) My mouse pad — a gift from my oldest daughter, it has 15 photos of my kids on it (and to me, there’s NOTHING more beautiful!)
5) My silly homemade hand tattoo — I did it myself, in my bedroom closet (with calligraphy ink!) when I was 13. It reminds me of who I was, who I still am, and who I have become.
I love, love, love this project, and am thrilled to participate! xoxoxo
I love this and I love you.
1. My sore shoulders and back. It makes me feel present. It reminds me that I’m alive. I’m here, in my body. Inhabiting it. It feels real.
2. Coconut water. Aside from all the nutritional benefits it just really makes me feel like I’m relaxing lazily by the pool on a tropical island.. when I’m really shivering on a dreary day with a huge to do list and a headache.
3. Crystals. No Explanation Needed.
4. Yoga. Because I need to get on the mat tonight so urgently to find my centre, to release.
5. Returning to my breath. Recognizing that I do have the choice not to react with anger when faced with someone’s behavior that I find unpleasant or triggering. Internally transforming to respond with love. So hard but when it happens it is the most incredibly beautiful feeling.