In a world obsessed with productivity, we’ve lost touch with one of the simplest, most powerful sources of restoration we have—beauty. This week, we explore how reconnecting with awe, wonder, and ordinary beauty can reset your nervous system, restore your creativity, and remind you what it means to be fully alive.
Sara Sweat, MA – Founder & CEO, Mindshift Advisors
When was the last time you were stopped in your tracks by something beautiful?
Not “Instagram-worthy” pretty or “that’s nice” pretty. I mean beauty that catches you off guard.
A sunset that made you whisper “wow” in quiet reverence. A song that transported you to another time or place you hadn’t thought about in years. A meal so delicious it made you lean back in your seat, slam your palm on the table, and roll your eyes with the absurdity of its goodness.
Now ask yourself: how often are you letting that kind of beauty into your life?
For most of us? Not often enough.
We’re moving too fast. Feverishly crossing items off our to do list & too focused on output to look up. So busy that making space for something besides achievement feels wasteful.
We’ve distracted ourselves into disconnection. Or we’ve dulled our senses just enough to miss what’s right in front of us—blind to the everyday miracles happening all around.
When we cut ourselves off from our connection to beauty, we also sever one of the most accessible, affordable, and powerful sources of restoration we have.
Why Beauty Matters More Than You Think
The ancient Greeks believed beauty wasn’t just decoration—it was divine. A way of aligning ourselves with truth. Gothic Christian churches were built with grand stained glass windows and soaring spires designed to elicit awe and wondrous contemplation from their parishioners. While that might sound a little lofty, modern neuroscience backs up the intent.
Studies show that experiencing beauty—whether in nature, art, music, or design—activates the brain’s default mode network, the part associated with reflection, self-awareness, and creativity. One Stanford study found that people who regularly engaged with beauty reported higher levels of life satisfaction and lower levels of stress and anxiety.
Translation: beauty inspires us to greatness by connecting us to what makes us human.
But, in a world that constantly demands we be productivity machines, reconnecting with our humanity is radical.
When Beauty Caught Me
Last summer, I took my son to the same lake in Minnesota where my grandfather had built a small cabin in the mid 1960’s. Grandpa’s cabin was long gone, but I found a rental home that had a similar feel just 10 houses down from where so many of my best childhood memories occurred.
This cabin had the same knotty pine walls, same scratchy old rugs and outdated appliances. There was even a similar sleeping porch screened in on three sides to capture the breeze off the lake. Even the sunrises looked the same – the hot pink and dusty purple dawn giving way to a light so brightly reflected off the water you could barely look outside.
I appreciated these details. I remarked on them. I was even grateful for them. But, then quickly returned whatever task was at hand. Sending a quick email, making everyone lunch, applying sunscreen to my child, applying bug spray on anything that stood still.
Until the evening my son asked me to teach him how to fish.
We walked with his little fishing pole, complete with lure and bobber, down the steps and on to the creaking boards of the worn out dock of our rental cabin. To the distant humming of fishing boat motors and water lapping on the sand, with dragonflies swarming all around, I showed him how to cast. How to pick your spot and time the release and slowly reel in the line with erratic timing to mimic the movements of an injured worm.
On the same lake where my father had taught me, where his father had taught him, another generation was falling in love with the familiar “zing” of the fishing line as it traveled through the air and landed “kerplunk” on glassy still waters. And, I felt something shift.
Sacred beauty was all around us. And, I could see it. As my nervous system returned to peace, I remembered that I belonged to a legacy, to a family, and to a great big world – not a calendar of events.
Beauty reminds us that life is still here even when we’ve forgotten we’re living it.
How to Invite Beauty Back In (No Plane Ticket Required)
But, you don’t need a getaway to be surrounded with beauty. Just presence, curiosity, and a willingness to look again.
Here are a few ways to start:
- Slow. Down. There are beautiful things around you all the time – you’re just speeding by them. The fastest way to access beauty is to slow your roll. Build a 5 minute buffer between your meetings. Put your phone away while you make your morning coffee. Do one thing at a time.
- Disrupt the distraction. Our brains love our routines. But, too much repetition of draining routines can keep us stuck. So, change it up. Take a different route to work. Go for a walk after dinner instead of hitting the gym. Swap out your rerun of The Office for a chapter of a good book.
- Notice ordinary beauty. Actually look for it. Expect it. Gamify it, if it helps. But, be intentional about looking for beauty in the everyday experiences of your life. You’ll be amazed where it shows up.
- Curate your inputs. Swap 15 minutes of doom scrolling for music that stirs you. Images that move you. A TED Talk that inspires. Notice how what you’re consuming makes you feel and intentionally pour into what lights you up.
- Beautify your space. Ya know that pile of papers on your desk? The clutter is low key annoying you whether you know it or not. So, clean your desk. Light a candle that smells amazing. Unless it’s functional, beautiful, or meaningful to you – it shouldn’t be in your space.
- Get outside. Nature is the original flex. Your brain is already wired to feel calmer and more connected in the natural world. And, you don’t have to hike Annapurna. Even two minutes of standing with your bare feet in the grass can reset your nervous system.
What Matters Most
Burnout isn’t just exhaustion—it’s a kind of soul-depletion. Beauty does more than just refill the tank. It reminds you why you were working so hard in the first place.
To quote Robin Williams’ character from the great classic – Dead Poets Society, “medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for.”
You’ve mastered performance. Now it’s time to master presence. Go find something beautiful today. Let it stop you. Let it stir you. Let it call you back to life.
