Creating Beauty

Every year for the last 12 years or so I kick off the holiday season, right after Thanksgiving, by gathering leaves, berries, nuts and other sorted items, buy a few cans of gold, silver, bronze and copper spay paint and begin making wreathes.

Much more than crafting, this yearly ritual becomes for me a form of meditation, when I begin to feel the magic of the season. My hands seem to know just what to do; what colors to use, what to put where, until a work of art appears. Wreaths hang everywhere, circles of beauty. They make me happy every time I look at them.

The funny thing is, they seem to be created without my direction. Could this possibly be a formula for happiness? Could it really be this simple? “Stop directing your life and let life direct you,” my reverie whispers. What a beautifully simple concept...