Beauty Magic
We thought we’d squeeze in a little visit to Èze on our way along the French riviera. It’s an enchanting village clinging to the mountain side above the Mediterranean Sea. My homie and I made our way along the stone cobbled streets that wound their path to the top. Quite parched and ready for, as I call them, fivesies, we found a humble sign indicating an appropriate spot. Down a few steps into a cellar-like room we were led. We glanced at each other, not quite sure where this was going. All of a sudden it opened up into a mountain edge terrace that felt like I was walking onto a film set - a very fancy high-end restaurant with white umbrellas, white table cloths and French women dressed in chic outfits with red lipstick and sideways looks in our direction. Fair enough, we were in our bathers.
Château Eza, Côte D’azur. The view from our table.
I could barely contain my disbelief as we were led to the best table on the balcony - a corner view of mountain, ocean and cloud. We were literally sitting above the clouds jutting out over the ravine…in our bathers, no make-up, hair hardly brushed; thank God we had both thought to throw on a shirt! You know when you start giggling and you can’t stop yourself? This was us. Trying to maintain some sort of composure as we watched the clouds float in around us making the view completely disappear and reappear while the sunset cast its golden light over the whole thing. Yes, it was something out of a fairytale. It was. Not us. We were more like something that had washed up on shore from Queensland.
Sitting there with our expensive cocktails the only word for the beauty before us was ‘magic’. It was one of those moments that will never be matched, a true surprise that took my breath away.
When the cloud came in and totally took the view away. Day to night.
The poem below, I wrote it a few years ago but the images and ideas of each line seemed to be held in this memory.
Beauty does not linger.
Beauty is light.
Beauty calls.
Beauty tempts.
Beauty affects.
Beauty is unexpected grace.
BEAUTY IS
Beauty does not linger, it passes by with an invitation to things eternal. It draws us toward an embrace of wonder and life and wraps us, momentarily, in things that change us.
Beauty is light. Never to be found in the darkness, but amidst the shadows of doubt, struggle and pain, it shines through pulling with it our forgotten dreams.
Beauty calls. Its voice reaches in and grips our heart, reminding us we are still breathing and beckoning us to joy.
Beauty tempts us with visions of hope, opening the chest of imagination, and for a moment, possibilities arise like whales in our mind.
Beauty affects with a lasting impression. It faces despair with valiant colour and like the morning bird, heralds the dawn with its song.
Beauty is unexpected grace, the dying star that explodes our space and leaves us with a galaxy of wild adventure.
Keep imagining, and may beauty invite you this week.
Here’s a little video of the experience!
Love,
Amy x
