I was really happy when Liz asked me to present this guest post on beauty. Where do I begin. Let us start with some music, shall we?
I really enjoy listening to music from all genres, and I especially like Claude Debussy. One of his best known pieces is Rêverie, which I recommend everyone should listen to at least once in their lifetime. It embodies such beauty, peace and serenity within me. It is music which stirs the heart and moves the spirit, and conjures visions of an ethereal, magical nature. And ‘nature’, for me, is where the music takes me, and where I shall lead this post.
I have always felt close to the natural world, and have been inspired by its beauty and wonder in all of its different guises. Even now, decades on from my childhood, I feel blessed with being able to experience the childlike magic and wonderment I had when seeing the world for the first time through young eyes, and discovering new and exciting things. There is so much beauty in the natural world, and yet it is sad hardly any of us ever seem to notice it in our busy schedule of daily living.
All it takes is a few moments to stop the world in its modern revolution, stop time dead in its tracks and have a look around, listen and open up the senses to discover some of the interesting and fascinating wonders of nature, and see the beauty held there within. I think all our lives would be so enriched and full of beauty if we did this. I think we would appreciate our world more, and what it has to offer us, and our place within it.
For me, words are not enough to explain what beauty is, so here is a video I made many moons ago, which I hope will take you the rest of the way.
Links to Pete Hillman’s Blogs
Pete Hillman’s Nature Photography : Photographing the beauty and wonder of Staffordshire wildlife and more
Back Garden Moths : Photographing and Recording The Moths of A Staffordshire Garden
Some posts on my site that feature Pete’s images
(To see more, type the word hillman into the site search box)
Guest Post from Pete Hillman Tomorrow! (intro posted yesterday)
It is beautiful. The photos and the music. Music is one of the best ways to connect with nature and with the beautiful images and the soothing music, it was divine.. Thank you Pete and Liz..
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Its wonderful to receive your lovely comment and to know that you enjoyed it so. Best wishes!
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A serene start to my day, thank you Pete and Liz!
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How lovely! Thank you for your comment!
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Thank you very much, Liz for bringing this post together. Thank you also for bring so much beauty into our world with your focus and your fine insights into colour in all of your wonderful posts. It is such pure joy and light, especially in a world which sometimes appears so dark and bleak.
And thanks to Belinda, Jodi and Helen for your most kind words 🙂
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Dear Pete, your words are such a tonic! I woke up with a dreadful cold this am, and was moved to happy tears by your lovely message, it makes me feel so very happy! Thank you very, very much!
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Sorry to know you feel unwell, Liz. I wish you much better and soon. I am glad I made you feel happy, and you are more than welcome! 🙂
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Thank you Pete!
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I’m a great fan of Pete’s photography, writing and insights. Most enjoyable post!
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Thank you Belinda! I appreciate you leaving the comment. I’d also put myself in that category of “great fan” 🙂 Glad you enjoyed the post!
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Beautiful!!
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Thanks Jodi!
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I find this post very moving. A lot of Pete’s words resonate with me, having also been drawn to spend time in the natural world from a young age. Sadly not a lot of talent in capturing that beauty myself (other than with words), but am a great appreciator of other’s gifts in this area, and Pete clearly has a great gift. Love the first shot particularly, & enjoyed the play on words with the ‘meadow sweet’ video. Thank you Pete, & Liz.
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Thank you Helen for your appreciative comment and I’m really grateful to Pete for bringing all this beauty together into a single post! I’m glad this contribution meant a lot to you (as it did to me also). I loved the images too, for me in particular, the delicate fungi and the exceptionally sensitive rose capture 🙂
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