Monday's Musings: 3 Things Instagram Taught me About Beauty

by Mary Denman                 Twitter: @MaryDenman              Instagram: @MaryFDenman

Heard the phrase "Pinterest Perfect?" 

It means a life, or make-up, or hair that's perfect and pinned on Pinterest, inspiring others.

Or, it means someone else's life looks perfect on Pinterest compared to yours! 

Instagram can do the same thing.

However, as I've used it more, 
Instagram has taught me 3 things about finding beauty all around me. 

You'll see the very rare selfie on my feed and I generally don't follow celebs. Instead, you'll see the beauty I spot. 

Here's what I've learned:

1) A walk outside, in any season, can yield beauty. 

Walking my dog

Since I've gotten a dog, I'm taking walks everyday. Before, I would just go outside to get to the car or to grab some pictures with my DSLR camera. 

But now, I'm outside, walking multiple times. Walking the same areas over and over again. I appreciate the sky, the trees, the rain, the clouds. Nature is ever changing. 

Being outside frequently makes you notice there's beauty all around. Which leads to... 

2) You can learn to look for beauty. 

Fall leaves

It's obvious to see beauty when fall leaves are changing color. You can see the reds, oranges, and yellows of the leaves and the deep blue of the sky. Striking photos are easy. 

But then autumn gives way to winter, bare trees, brown grass and much less color. 

Of course I want to post pretty (or gorgeous) pictures, just like anyone else. 

But I had to develop an eye to spot subtle colors, changes in flowers and plants, or interesting subjects. I had to learn to look for beauty. 

Winter's frost

3) Sometimes, you need to look straight up or straight down to find beauty. 

One lady I follow named Jen Allen posts sunrises almost every day. She lives on the Gulf Coast and gets both sunrises and sunsets on the water. How lucky is she? She shares that beauty with the rest of us and I appreciate it! 

While I don't have an ocean or lake nearby, the sun rises and sets around me every day. Look to the sky, the sun, the moon, or the clouds for inspiration.

Moon above

I have also found myself looking down as I walk with my dog Liam. 

Why? Because I can trip easily! 

As I look where I'm going and make eye contact with Liam, I see beauty in the cracks of the road and in the grass of yards. 

It's everywhere when you start looking! 

Here's a bonus....

(BONUS) It's helped me lose weight! 

Dandelion beneath

While, technically, changing what I eat tremendously helped me lose weight, so did exercise. Walking my dog regularly has been a big part of that! 

So, exactly how does Instagram help? 

Well, it's an added benefit to my walks. Maybe I'll go a little further to take a picture of the flowers or get the best view of the sunset through the trees. 

With Instagram, I love following people who are great photographers, or people who inspire me with their feeds. 

I don't want to fall into the trap of thinking other people's lives are better than mine. 

And so far, my Instagram experience has been great! I love that it's taught me to see so much beauty in the world! 

Where do you find beauty in your world that you don't expect?

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