Do you love beauty and excellence?

Hello, and welcome to the Kindred Letters - my newsletter for 455,000+ introverts and other kindred spirits who prefer quiet to loud, depth to superficiality, sensitivity to cool. 

Today, we're going to talk about an undervalued character strength: appreciation of beauty and excellence.

But first: this link will allow you to sign up for my other (free) Kindred Letters newsletter, WHICH HAS DIFFERENT CONTENT from what you're reading now. Please sign up here if you'd prefer not to miss any of my letters. 

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Dear Readers,

Do you love beautiful, excellent things?

Me, too. In fact, I once took the VIA Character Strengths test, which basically takes 24 character strengths and tells you which ones you have most of.

My top strength was… Appreciation of Beauty & Excellence.

It seemed odd, at the time, like a passive, underwhelming thing – hardly a strength at all. But I see it differently now. I think that turning in the direction of beauty (as I wrote about in Bittersweet) is one of the most profound things we can do. It put us in the way of creativity, awe, love, and the unseen.

We could all use more of it. Much, much more of it.

Hence, this week I’m experimenting with a new feature of the Kindred Letters, in which I’ll share with you some of the art, writing, music, and poetry that I find excellent and beautiful.

If you enjoy this feature, can you please reply to let me know, so we can do more of it? (If you don't much like it, that would be great to know, too. Really.)

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For today, we have a poem from the glorious and gifted poet, Maggie Smith. As you’ll see, Maggie is the consummate poet of bittersweetness. See if you can read this without experiencing a single goosebump.

Rain, New Year's Eve

Maggie Smith

The rain is a broken piano,

playing the same note over and over.

My five-year-old said that.

Already she knows loving the world

means loving the wobbles

you can't shim, the creaks you can't

oil silent—the jerry-rigged parts,

MacGyvered with twine and chewing gum.

Let me love the cold rain's plinking.

Let me love the world the way I love

my young son, not only when

he cups my face in his sticky hands,

but when, roughhousing,

he accidentally splits my lip.

Let me love the world like a mother.

Let me be tender when it lets me down.

Let me listen to the rain's one note

and hear a beginner's song.

“Let me love the world like a mother” – that line gives me chills (the good kind), every time I read it.

I also love the way Maggie is so attuned to the simultaneous heartbreak and wonder of the world -- and her sheer determination to keep on loving it, no matter what.

I hope you loved Maggie Smith’s work as much as I do.

And again, please reply to let me know if you’d like to see more Kindred Letters like this one, with shares of excellent and beautiful poetry, art, essays, music, photography, etc.

I'm also curious to know whether you consider "Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence" one of YOUR top strengths, too.

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If you enjoyed this letter, you can sign up here for my other (free) Kindred Letters newsletter, WHICH HAS DIFFERENT CONTENT from what you're reading now!

See you next week!

my warmest,

Susan

#Introverts #Quiet #Leadership #QuietLeadership #Bittersweet #Kindred #SocialLife