In a time when it is easy to be overcome by fear or worry, we want this series of blog posts to give you simple, gentle, and dynamic ways to reclaim an atmosphere of peace, joy, and wonder in your home. We can all then help shine light to the world by sharing how we are choosing beauty daily. Please join us by using the hashtag #choosingbeauty on social media.
#ChoosingBeauty – Day 14
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To see a world in a grain of sand
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour.
-William Blake, “Auguries of Innocence”
“Water Lilies” by Claude Monet (1906)
Activities
Look: Study the picture. Notice everything you can and try to remember it. Take a few steps back away from the painting. Now come close. What differences did you notice? Close your eyes. Can you still imagine the picture? Describe the colors you saw. Tell everything you remember without looking.
Read: “Water Lilies” Stories Mother Nature Told Her Children by Jane Andrews
Observe: Take a walk to a place where there is fresh water. This may be a pond, a river, a lake, or a stream. As you get closer to the water, what changes do you notice in the plant life? Are there some types of plants that seem to like soggy places? Notice any trees that are growing near the water. What direction do they seem to be “pointing?” Notice the slope of the land around you. Where is the lowest place? Can you find evidence of animals coming for a drink?
Read: “Willows” by Walter Prichard Eaton
Listen: “To a Water Lily” Woodland Sketches Op. 51 by Edward MacDowell, performed by Hal Freedman
Share: If you could not walk to water today, share a memory you have of visiting a pond, stream or creek. What do you remember was in and around the water? I wonder what would be your favorite choice, looking at your refelction or getting in the water? #choosing beauty
More to Read and Do:
“The White Water Lily” Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Comstock
Linnea in Monet’s Garden by Christina Bjork
Pond Life by Rena Kirkpatrick
©Charlotte Mason Institute 2020
