If you ask tweens this question, they’re likely to hesitate before they answer.  Most tweens don’t measure their daily experiences in terms of beauty.  If an answer does surface, chances are, it will entail a description of a flower, a rainbow, a cloud, or some other object that encompasses a child’s primitive definition of beauty.

Parents can help tweens expand their beauty vocabulary with liberal examples of beauty:

• A smile shared between friends
• A varitey of food textures and colors
• The lines of a car
• A brother helping a sister
• The sound of crickets at dusk

Bearing witness to the abundant beauty that surrounds us is certain to lift our spirits and the spirits of those in our company.  Challenge yourself and your tweens to find the beauty in one new place today. 

Life is a reflection of our inner worlds.  The ability to see beauty outside of ourselves enhances recognition of the beauty within.