The VIEW From Above 3

What BEAUTY are you creating, cultivating, or inviting into your life this week? It’s easy to focus on the negative when you are quarantined inside or limited in your outside activities to quick visits to the grocery store or the pharmacy. Feeling trapped has its downside even in good times. Lately, looking outside the window has caused me to focus less on the gray landscape of Austin and more on bright spots of color, the flight of birds, and the emerging green leaves on the trees lining the empty streets. Spring is visible everywhere. Nature seems totally oblivious to the battle being waged between humans and an invisible virus. This week’s blog picture features the wildflowers that grow around the air conditioning units just beyond the office window of the international president. Not only can I admire these flowers from inside Headquarters, but I see their distinct colors from my apartment window overlooking the HQ building. They create a “happy place” for me and remind me that my own gardens at home are blooming, too.

Now that DKG members are weeks into dealing with COVID-19 many are turning toward finding happiness while dealing with this pandemic. During a GoToMeeting earlier this week Betty Rose, our Area Representative Canada, noted that the snows in Alberta would soon be gone. She could tell that spring and summer were just around the corner. In the same virtual meeting Ingibjorg Jonasdottir laughingly told the group that it was the first day of summer in Iceland – not that an Icelandic summer day is anything like a summer day in any other part of the world. It was interesting that these women commented about nature when there was a lull in the conversation. Reflecting on nature and the beauty inherent in it made everyone happier and more willing to discuss the serious issues this group was addressing. Across the Society members are finding solace in the familiar and in activities and objects that have often been ignored in our former busy daily lives. We are catching our breath during this crisis and seeing what’s been in front of us all along.

Virginia’s Dr. Mary Mehaffey, the state organization president, has asked members to note “bright spots” related to how chapters are conducting business, reaching out to members, especially those who are seniors, appreciating each other and first responders. She plans to collect and share these responses with DKG members across the state through the newsletter in an effort to spread cheer while members remain physically apart.

Constitution Committee Chair Kay Stuart and some of her friends are creating beauty and showing both care and concern for others as they paint rocks with faces of medical staff in the Knoxville, Pennsylvania area. These portraits, complete with masks, are distributed to hospitals and nursing homes to bolster the spirits of the frontline heroes.

Members are finding happiness in beauty both around them and from within. How are you inviting beauty and happiness into your life? Let me share a bit of beauty that I discovered this week, the Philadelphia Magic Gardens designed by muralist Isaiah Zagar. You don’t even have to leave the safety of your home to take in the wonder he created. Enjoy and prepare to smile!

https://www.phillymagicgardens.org/about-us/virtual-tour/

Comments (cathyd@dkg.org)