“Joy is not a thing; It is in us”

Photo taken 5/29/20, Cartersville Park in Provo, UT

The title of this post actually comes from a quote by Charles Wagner, a French pastor who lived 1852-1918. I found these words as I went on my walk a few days ago. What struck me about this quote was how simple it was. But there is beauty in its simplicity and a profound message to be learned in it.

Pondering these words brought to my mind my current life state. I often find myself thinking in my lonely moments of my bygone and present expectations. Expectations are not a bad thing, but they time and again mean my happiness hinges on their fulfillment. Case and example, at 18 I thought to be happy I needed to be married before 23, performing music and beginning a family. But just because that was the story for many of my friends didn’t mean it would be the same for me.

Did it leave me feeling discouraged and oftentimes brokenhearted? Yes. It still does. But as I grow older, this sorrow has caused me to to look deeper into what gives my life meaning. Now, the message I hear in church, movies, articles and books is “Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.” (Film Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban)

I recently also read an article in the June 2020 Ensign magazine issue by a young woman living through a similar situation. She also talked about “expectations”.

I believe one reason why people in their young adult years might feel frustrated by life can be explained in one word: expectation. Often what we expect—or what others expect or what a culture expects—doesn’t happen, leaving us feeling hurt, alone, betrayed, frustrated, or confused.

Sarah Griggs, “Life Not Turning Out How You Planned? Here’s How to Love It Anyway“

When I read these words I thought how sad it is to live in the younger, more vibrant part of our lives wanting and longing for what we don’t have. Why aren’t more of us enjoying and loving each moment given to us? If we spend the majority of our life longing for where we are not, having what we do not, and knowing what we do not we will sow the fruits of bitterness within ourselves.

Photo of a rose I found in a garden on my walk 5/29

Is this an easy thing to understand? In theory it is. But in practice, our minds are accustomed to growth and goals. That growth is often associated with what we believe we need to be happy. We can acquire things, we can even become intelligent, knowledgeable people but the most important accomplishments and longings of the human heart TAKE TIME and TIMING.

For each person it is different. We can’t all step onto the same path and expect the same satisfactory, vanilla story. It is because we are all unique beings whose needs do not always match our wants.

This is actually my parent’s and friends’ speech to me. I struggle like so many others with understanding I have the capacity to be happy now. It is as Viktor Frankl said, “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” (Viktor Frankl, Man’s Search For Meaning)

Art by Thalia Bee

It reminds me of one of my favorite concepts from J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series.As a child I often thought of the third book and loved the idea of having a patronus. For those who don’t know a patronus is, it is a animal projection a, “positive force. . . (of) hope, happiness, the desire to survive” born from a happy memory. They are used primarily to drive away dementors. Rowling described them thus,

“Dementors are among the foulest creatures that walk this earth. They infest the darkest, filthiest places, they glory in decay and despair, they drain peace, hope, and happiness out of the air around them. Even Muggles feel their presence, though they can’t see them. Get too near a Dementor and every good feeling, every happy memory will be sucked out of you. If it can, the Dementor will feed on you long enough to reduce you to something like itself — soul-less and evil. You’ll be left with nothing but the worst experiences of your life.”

– J. K. Rowling, The Prisoner of Azkaban

I love reading of Harry’s triumph over these creatures. I love it because he procured for himself from his very soul the means for his deliverance. It meant he had power over the evil which surrounded him. It meant he need not be chained down by the tragedies and heartaches in his life. That is, if he searched deep within himself to do so.

I believe the same can happen for us if we strive to find the good around us and cultivate happiness within ourselves. Lincoln was once attributed to saying, “Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” This saying is given new meaning in knowing the details from his life. I loved how in the recent movie Lincoln (2012) it showed an intense moment between Lincoln and his wife. She, overcome still by the grief of her son, insists he couldn’t possibly understand her pain. His response made me wonder at the power of the human heart.

I couldn’t tolerate you grieving so for Willie because I couldn’t permit it in myself, though I wanted to, Mary. I wanted to crawl under the earth, into the vault with his coffin. I still do. Every day I do. Don’t… talk to me about grief. I must make my decisions, Bob must make his, you yours. And bear what we must, hold and carry what we must. What I carry within me – you must allow me to do it, alone as I must. And you alone, Mary, you alone may lighten this burden, or render it intolerable. As you choose.

–Lincoln

It is hard to think such a great man, who did so much good, could have suffered from depression. It is hard because we think heroes such as Lincoln are untouchable, perfect archetypes. But he was human and he suffered. But I am glad he found within his heart ways to fight the grief of the war and rise up to meet the moment God gave him.

In any way we can we must fight away despair and discouragement because if we don’t we are eaten alive by it. More than that, we are made to find joy. It comes from aligning ourselves with God. It flourishes as we learn to love unselfishly and it defines our lives as we continue forward and let our lights shine for others.

To think that Joy is within us gives me a lot of hope. Life is truly a beautiful thing even in the midst of hard times. It is beautiful because people can create wonderful lives for themselves even in the midst of tragedy. It begins with a decision to be happy now where we are rather than to find happiness somewhere in an obscure place or future.

I am a Perfectionist and I’m Okay With It: Day 15

Being a perfectionist tends to have a negative connotation in our society nowadays. When we picture a stereotypical perfectionist we see perfectly cleaned rooms with perfectly organized shelves and perfectly ironed cloths. The Oxford dictionary says perfectionism is “refusal to accept any standard short of perfection.” Meaning a perfectionist is “a person who refuses to accept any standard short of perfection.”

In my mind, when I hear these definitions I think of Monk from the TV show and sort of shudder thinking of any being like that. At least I do when its meaning pushes this image of perfection. It is like Elder Cecil O. Samuelson said. “These good people suffer from exaggerating their minor mistakes, weaknesses, or shortcomings to the point that they may become dysfunctional.”

It is so ironic that we most often associate the word perfectionism with dysfunctional. That a perfectionist, who is trying to have such a high standard for themselves, is slightly broken.

This was how I pictured perfectionism until my church mission in Russia. I remember talking to the counselor in Moscow about certain problems with Obsessive Compulsive Thinking I seemed to have. She then asked me a very pointed question: “Aubrey, do you think you are a perfectionist?” I was taken aback. There was no way I could POSSIBLY be. I mean, I was no Monk. But then, after reading some articles she sent me, everything from my life started clicking together.

From the article “The Imperfectionism of Perfectionism“

I looked at the signs of may be perfectionists and surprisingly saw myself (Refer to this article for more information.)

1. All or Nothing Thinking, where anything less then perfect isn’t good enough. Yep. Throughout my schooling I always had very high expectations for myself in regards to grades, reading and how much I knew. If I did not meet my intended vision, what I did wasn’t good enough.
2. Critical Eye, being very critical of themselves and others. I see every aspect of my weaknesses and I remember them. I have an uncanny memory for my mistakes and weaknesses. I also am very observant of others’ shortcomings.
3. Push vs. Pull, to be pushed toward their goals by a fear of not reaching them and see anything less than a perfectly met goal as a failure. I was not one to pull myself up to meet goals. I tended to be pushed by this ever present fear of failure.
4. Unrealistic Standards, having unreasonable self standards. The best example I can think for this in my life is when I started learning Russian. I wanted to know the entire language in 8 weeks. A feat which usually takes 8 years. I set a bizarre standard on my self and consequently, I was miserable most of those 8 weeks.
5. Focus on Results, seeing nothing but the goal and hardly any of the journey to get there. This manifested most profoundly in my writing. I had to either write the entire paper perfectly in one go, or it was no good. I barely ever used outlines or drafts.
6. Depressed by Unmet Goals, being unable to bounce back or be positive about failure. Failure has always, always been hard for me. I remember each failure years later. “If at first you don’t succeed, try try again.” is a phrase I have therefore struggled with for a long time.
7. Fear of Failure, so much is stake in the results, the fear of failing is overwhelming. I have many times been frozen in place mentally because I am so afraid of failing. Example, I tried to do handstands in my B3 yoga class several years ago. As I watched everyone so much farther along than me physically, I faced the wall and immediately laid down. The thought of me be unable to succeed was almost unbearable.
8. Procrastination, “fearing failure as they do, perfectionists will sometimes worry so much about doing something imperfectly that they become immobilized and fail to do anything at all.” Such a mindset has often possessed me. Like from my aforementioned example, it manifests most in yoga. I oftentimes freeze while trying to do hard poses because I know in my heart I can’t do them perfectly yet and I don’t want anyone to witness my shortcomings.
9. Defensiveness, taking constructive criticism is hard. When I am at my lowest, I do everything in my power to never have to receive criticism of any kind because I do become defensive and unable to think clearly beyond the weaknesses they have pointed out.
10. Low Self-Esteem, because they have such high standards, it manifests as low self-esteem. I see this most in myself in my physical health. I have had to fight hard to gain a love for myself and how I look.

Looking at this list is very daunting. I see all these signs in myself and wonder how I have been able to achieve anything.

I have to wonder if have these tendencies are necessarily a bad thing. Though I sometimes find myself falling into a pit of fear or even self-criticism, I have come along way from the small third grade self who lamented not getting hundreds on her multiplication tests.

It’s all about perspective!

So I re-looked at the list and found my strengths resting nestled among my weaknesses. I have also found ways to overcome the greater challenges I mentioned in the list before.

1. All or Nothing Thinking. Because I have high expectations for myself, it has helped me avoid unnecessary debt, addictions, and self destructive behavior. The all doesn’t have to come now. I’ve learned to slowly, over time, take small steps towards self improvement.
2. . Critical Eye. To be critical is not necessarily a negative thing. The definition of critical can also mean, ” expressing or involving an analysis of the merits and faults of a work of literature, music, or art.” Because I am very observant of faults and failures it means I am ALSO very observant of masterful or beautiful things. I created for me a love of reading, watching and observing the wonders of this world and really analyzing them. All to bring to my life a greater understanding of the world.
3. Push vs. Pull. I’ve found as time has gone forward I have switched more to a push and pull mindset. I know my goal, feel the internal push toward it and then methodically take smaller steps to reach it. I’ve learned to use such a vice as a spring board towards higher achievements.
4. Unrealistic Standards. Tricky as this one is I’ve learned that unrealistic standards can also be interpreted as “high aspirations”. I’ve also learned to shift my focus from myself to others. For example: “I have to learn Russian in 8 weeks” vs. “I want to learn Russian as fast as I can so I can really speak to the Russian people.” Truly this mindset would have really helped me on my mission. But I needed to grow into it.
5. Focus on Results. Again, this is not really a bad thing unless the end goal completely overwhelms me. I keep in the forefront mind what I expect from myself and work hard to achieve it.
6. Depressed by Unmet Goals. This has been one of the hardest for me. The best I can say is, I try my hardest to look past the failure and the opportunities still before me. I keep in my mind Walt Disney’s phrase, “Keep Moving Forward.”
7. Fear of Failure. This trick is to push through the fear and see it for what it is. Once I see it for what it is I take a step back, breathe and envision puling myself up if I do fail. I think, I will be alright. There is always one more try than the one before to get it right.
8. Procrastination. Catch it. Then move on. This is no longer a vice which plagues me.
9. Defensiveness. I have to tell myself if ever I receive criticism that it has nothing to do with my worth as a person. I have also learned to embrace the phrase, “I don’t know.” There is such relief in not having to know everything. If I can do these two things, I find I become less and less defensive when being corrected.
10. Low Self-Esteem. I have learned to turn my low self esteem into humility. But also I’ve tried over the years to take care of and love my body the best that I can. It is hard to hate one’s self if one tries their best to take care of themselves physically, mentally and spiritually.

There you have it. Even though there are times where I wonder about my imperfections and feel frozen by fear, I’ve felt such relief over the years as these aspects of my character no longer seem like a burden.

“Hear Him”

I can’t take complete credit for myself for these breakthroughs in my life. Honestly, the greatest joy I’ve found is in creating a relationship with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. These relationships have helped me the most.

I’ve had so many experiences on and since my mission where I have simply sat, meditated, and felt God’s love for me. The best changes in my life have come not through my merit of character but when I stopped to feel and know how much God loves me. It has meant so much to know him and want to change. At the root of my change isn’t an overshadowing feeling of guilt but a firm desire to become like Christ.

It is hard to feel love such as Heavenly Father’s and not want to change for the better.

“Feed My Sheep”- David Koch

I believe most perfectionists fail to know they are not alone on life’s journey. That is why they are stuck. True relief comes in knowing and living with god day to day.

“The difficulties of life do not have to be unbearable. It is the way we look at them – through faith or unbelief – that makes them seem so. We must be convinced that our Father is full of love for us and that He only permits trials to come our way for our own good.

Let us occupy ourselves entirely in knowing God. The more we know Him, the more we will desire to know Him. As love increases with knowledge, the more we know God, the more we will truly love Him. We will learn to love Him equally in times of distress or in times of great joy.”

 Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God

Being a perfectionist is not a bad thing unless we let our imperfections and fear take over us. We must strive towards better goals and seek the divine.

Thank you for reading!

Beauty Around Us, Part 7: Day 14 Recognizing and Embracing Small, Daily Changes

“People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don’t even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child—our own two eyes. All is a miracle.”

― Thich Nhat Hanh, The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation

Because of recent changes I have done with my daily habits , I started to wonder about the redundancy of revisiting the same places every day. Usually, our everyday spaces are boring because of their familiarity. The same grocery stores, bedrooms and even window views lose their savor because they are always in our everyday lives.

I remembered the time I went on a European Music Tour while in college. Our first stop was Rome and on our second day we visited the Colosseum. All of us were in awe and were enthusiastically taking pictures. Well, others were while I stood staring at the structure a little ways from the group. Because I was disengaged from my fellow tourists, I noticed how many people passed by us on foot and in cars. One man was even running at a fast pace listening to music. None of them stopped to look. At the time I thought how sad it was they couldn’t take the time to look at such a magnificent architectural feat.

Now I have to wonder, are we all not the same? We pass by amazing, beautiful sights everyday without giving them much thought. I think it is because in our minds we have established we know everything we need to about the environment. We are comfortable and look elsewhere for insight or entertainment. Familiarity makes the mind hungry for something, anything more exciting.

The word which has popped into my head a lot is stimulation. In looking in the Cambridge dictionary, this word means, “an action or thing that causes someone or something to become more active or enthusiastic, or to develop or operate”. I believe, like anything, there are different daily sites, songs, books or moments which in turn stimulate parts of our brain, to encourage us towards our personal development.

The trick is, usually these daily simulations usually come in very small moments. Very rarely do we find ourselves engaged in the grandiose things we see on TV or read of in books. But the everyday things, and the decisions we make as we engage with them makes ALL THE DIFFERENCE in our life direction.

I found myself paying attention to small simple pleasures around me. I often thought, “How long has it been since I see this? . . . paid attention to this. . .? . . . stopped to study this?” I decided to take time to see those things.

More than the differences in our environment, think of the small changes within our bodies, minds and spirits which come every day as we a stimulated at different levels by our world? Sometimes we create our own world through music, books or TV. Other times we plunge into the world brought to us by God and others. Regardless, one of the most beautiful truths in the universe is there can never be a person exactly the same as us. We are our own glorious, ever changing creation.

Specifically, I wanted to show how our everyday environment does NOT stay in a sterile stay of regularity. Every moment is a gift which we can never experience again. The grass will never be the same shade, thickness or color. The trees won’t ever have the light shine the way it does again. And, most importantly, each of us will never be the same person as we are in this very moment.

Thinking about all these things, I took two pictures a day of the same shots near the park where I live in Provo, UT. Within in the one week I marveled at how much had changed both there in the photos and within myself. I rounded the pictures to give the illusion of seeing through a lens.

If you would like, take time to study each photo and see the changes which occurred. If not, simply enjoy the beauty of seeing these changes in fast motion.

Sunday, May 3 2020

Monday, May 4 2020

Tuesday, May 5 2020

Wednesday, May 6 2020

Thursday, May 7 2020

Friday, May 8 2020

Saturday, May 9 2020

Sunday, May 10 2020

Beauty Around Us: Part 6, Japanese Animated Backgrounds II

Though it took awhile, here is the second part of my Japanese film section. Most of these are from Hayao Miyazaki, but all these films have beautiful imagery.

I Satoshi Kon

1. Millennium Actress (2001)

2. Tokyo Godfathers (2003)

3. Paprika (2006)

He will take a LONG time. His films are visually gorgeous.

II. Hayao Miyazaki

1. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)

2. Castle in the Sky (1986)

3. My Neighbor Totoro (1988)

4. Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989)

5. Porco Rosso (1992)

6. Princess Mononoke (1997)

7. Spirited Away (2001)

8. Howl’s Moving Castle (2004)

9. Ponyo (2008)

10. The Wind Rises (2013)

III. Various Others

1. Metropolis (2001)

2. Hotarubi No Mori E (2011)

3. In This Corner of the World (2016)

4. Redline (2009)

Beauty Around Us: Part 5, Japanese Animated Backgrounds I

Because I admire so many animation directors from Japan, I made a specific section for film backgrounds for them. In fact I have TWO sections. I especially admire these film makers because of their use of colors, light and nature.

I. Isao Takahata

1. Grave of the Fireflies (1988)

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2. Only Yesterday (1991)

3. My Neighbors the Yamadas (1999)

4. The Tale of Princess Kaguya (2013)

II. Makoto Shinkai

1. 5 Centimetres Per Second (2007)

2. Children Who Chase Lost Voices (2011)

3. The Garden of Words (2013)

4. Your Name (2016)

5. Weathering With You (2019)

III. Mamoru Hosoda

1. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006)

2. Summer Wars (2009)

3. Wolf Children (2012)

4. The Boy and the Beast (2015)

Beauty Around Us: Part 4, Quotes to Inspire

For this post, I will post twenty-five quotes from books, movies and various people. Words which move us help set afire the beauty dormant within us.

1.

Around the world–even in some of the countries most troubled by poverty or civil war or pollution–many thoughtful people are making a deep, concerted search for a way to live in harmony with each other and the earth. Their efforts, which rarely reach the headlines, are among the most important events occurring today. Sometimes these people call themselves peace workers, at other times environmentalists, but most of the time they work in humble anonymity. They are simply quiet people changing the world by changing themselves.

Eknath Easwaran, Your Life is Your Message: Finding Harmony With Yourself, Others, and the Earth

2.

The simple things are also the most extraordinary things, and only the wise can see them.

Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

3.

Peace begins with a smile..

Mother Teresa

4.

Wherever I go, I will speak of you with love.

Clive Barker, The Thief of Always

5.

Witch, do this for me,
Find me a moon
made of longing.
Then cut it sliver thin,
and having cut it,
hang it high
above my beloved’s house,
so that she may look up
tonight
and see it,
and seeing it, sigh for me
as I sigh for her,
moon or no moon.

Clive Barker Abarat: Days of Magic Nights of War

6.

When you are born,” the golem said softly, “your courage is new and clean. You are brave enough for anything: crawling off of staircases, saying your first words without fearing that someone will think you are foolish, putting strange things in your mouth. But as you get older, your courage attracts gunk, and crusty things, and dirt, and fear, and knowing how bad things can get and what pain feels like. By the time you’re half-grown, your courage barely moves at all, it’s so grunged up with living. So every once in awhile, you have to scrub it up and get the works going, or else you’ll never be brave again.

Catherynne M. Valente, The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making (Fairyland, #1)

7.

I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had no where else to go. My own wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient for that day.

Abraham Lincoln

8.

If you stumble about believability, what are you living for? Love is hard to believe, ask any lover. Life is hard to believe, ask any scientist. God is hard to believe, ask any believer. What is your problem with hard to believe?

Yann Martel, Life of Pi

9.

A quiet secluded life in the country, with the possibility of being useful to people to whom it is easy to do good, and who are not accustomed to have it done to them; then work which one hopes may be of some use; then rest, nature, books, music, love for one’s neighbor — such is my idea of happiness.

Leo Tolstoy

10.

Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. God is awake.

Victor Hugo

11.

To love another person is to see the face of God.

Victor Hugo

12.

It’s easy to do nothing, it’s hard to forgive.”

Avatar the Last Airbender, “The Southern Raiders”

13.

The greatest illusion of this world is the illusion of separation. Things you think are separate and different are actually one and the same. We are all one people, but we live as if divided.

Avatar the Last Airbender, “The Guru”

14.

A lesson without pain is meaningless. That’s because no one can gain without sacrificing something. But by enduring that pain and overcoming it, he shall obtain a powerful, unmatched heart. A fullmetal heart.

Hiromu Arakawa, Fullmetal Alchemist, Vol. 25

15.

And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

16.

Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting:

The Soul that rises with us, our life’s Star,

Hath had elsewhere its setting,

And cometh from afar:

Not in entire forgetfulness,

And not in utter nakedness,

But trailing clouds of glory do we come.

William Wordsworth

17.

We know that God is everywhere; but certainly we feel His presence most when His works are on the grandest scale spread before us; and it is in the unclouded night-sky, where His worlds wheel their silent course, that we read clearest His infinitude, His omnipotence, His omnipresence.

Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre

18.

Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.

Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

19.

When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it, always.

Gandhi, Gandhi

20.

“A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”

Albert Einstein

21.

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”

― Martin Luther King Jr., A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches

22.

“There is more to a boy than what his mother sees. There is more to a boy then what his father dreams. Inside every boy lies a heart that beats. And sometimes it screams, refusing to take defeat. And sometimes his father’s dreams aren’t big enough, and sometimes his mother’s vision isn’t long enough. And sometimes the boy has to dream his own dreams and break through the clouds with his own sunbeams.

― Ben Behunin, Remembering Isaac: The Wise and Joyful Potter of Niederbipp

The earth is speaking to us, but we can’t hear because of all the racket our senses are making. Sometimes we need to erase them, erase our senses. Then – maybe – the earth will touch us. The universe will speak. The stars will whisper.

Jerry Spinelli, Stargirl

24.

If we commit ourselves to one person for life, this is not, as many people think, a rejection of freedom; rather, it demands the courage to move into all the risks of freedom, and the risk of love which is permanent; into that love which is not possession but participation.”

Madeleine L’Engle

25.

When there is kindness, there is goodness. When there is goodness, there is magic.

Cinderella (2015)

Beauty Around Us: Part 3, European and Chinese Animated Backgrounds

“Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.”
― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

Continuing on, these are beautiful backgrounds from European and Chinese animation.

I. European Animation

1. French, Danish Long Way North (2015)

2. French, The Illusionist (2010)

3. French Ernest and Celestine (2014)

4. Dutch, Japanese The Red Turtle (2017)

5. French, Italian The Little Prince (2015)

6. French Tales of the Night (2011)

7. English Watership Down (1978)

8. French The King and the Mockingbird (Officially 1980)

II. Chinese Animated Films

1. Big Fish and Begonia (2016)

Beauty Around Us: Part 2, American and Irish Animated Backgrounds

“Youth is happy because it has the capacity to see beauty. Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old.”
― Franz Kafka

Continuing on, the theme for this section is beautiful backgrounds from animated films in America and Ireland.

I. Disney Animated Films

1. Sleeping Beauty (1959)

2. Tarzan (1999)

3. Pocahontas (1995)

4.The Rescuers Down Under (1990)

5. Frozen (2013)

6. The Princess and the Frog (2009)

7. The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)

II. Pixar Animated Films

1. Coco (2018)

2. Wall-e (2008)

III. Dreamworks Animation

1. How to Train Your Dragon 1-3

2. Prince of Egypt (1998)

3. Kung Fu Panda 1-3

IV. Laika Studios

1. Coraline (2009)

2. ParaNorman (2012)

3. Kubo and the Two Strings (2015)

V. Cartoon Saloon

1. The Secret of Kells (2009)

2. The Breadwinner (2017)

3. The Song of the Sea (2014)

VI. Various Other American Animated Films

1. Anastasia (1997)

2. The Thief and the Cobbler (?)

3. The Secret of Nimh (1982)

4. Klaus (2019)

Beauty around Us: Day 13, Part 1

Most of the pictures in this post are actually from my personal camera phone. Spring is truly a beautiful time of year.

I’ve wondered a lot these past few weeks the value of taking the time to see and appreciate beauty around us. From commercials on solitude during the quarantine and even free access to operas, ballets and classical concerts I’ve found myself reflecting on how much I needed to slow down and LOOK at the world around me.

A peace has come into my life even amidst the chaos, stress and anxiety.

To see, understand and appreciate beauty is an integral part of the human condition. Its deeply personal. I’ve noticed how those who lose track of themselves most readily forget to find and see beautiful things. To be truly lost in the dark means also being blind to beauty.

But just like anything, the higher elevated our minds are, the more attune we are to celestial beauty. Even if we feel we aren’t adequate or insightful enough to know or find the best of everything, I’ve found for myself there is beauty everywhere if we are willing to look for it.

I remember several years ago doing a research project on what I believed to be the most beautiful animated films. I believe what I sad then applies to now. It is silly but I was upset because my favorite films had not been listed. These were my thoughts concerning the matter six years ago.

It is natural to be emotionally attached to beautiful things, and even more so to be upset when they are not recognized. 

Beauty and aesthetic opinions are ALWAYS subjective. . . Though beauty depends on personal opinion, I still believe there is a higher standard. To be able to recognize and appreciate true beauty takes time, patience and study.

So much of normal everyday life seems to be built upon abating physical appetites and receiving stimulation through our entertainment. But the experiences that really matter, which stick to us, are those which adhear to out spiritual desire to find beautiful things and experience them for ourselves.

Sometimes that is through a children’s story. Sometimes a photograph. It can be found in nature among trees and flowers and in looking up at the stars. Music at its peak also transports us to hearing and finding beauty within ourselves.

I wanted to share a few of my most favorite beautiful finds. I will list it by category. I find when I show others the things I love I understand and love myself more. It gives me confidence to know I can find beauty around me.

I. Background Art from Animated Shows

1. Samurai Jack

Art by Scott Wills

2. Avatar the Last Airbender

3. Hilda (2018)

Original art and concept by Luke Pearson

4. Over the Garden Wall (2014)

II. Backgrounds from Japanese Animated Shows

1. Mushishi (2005, 2014)

trees-2560-1024-wallpaper

2. Hyouka (2012)

3. Tsuritama (2012)

This post will be split into four or more parts! Stay tuned.