When Beauty Stops By

In this episode, When Beauty Stops By . . .

“Beauty does not linger; it only visits.”

When was the last time you let that thought settle in? Most of us don’t. We’re too busy chasing beauty—buying it, booking it, or photographing it. But maybe beauty isn’t something you pursue. Perhaps it’s what shows up when you finally stop sprinting.

It lives in the periphery: an uninvited smile, a few notes of music on the wind, the velvet green of grass, a breeze through autumn’s gold. Beauty doesn’t send a calendar invite. It just arrives—quietly, undeserved, right on time.

The problem is our default setting: Hurry.
We scroll, reply, refresh, repeat. We treat silence like a software glitch. But beauty only visits when you stage a small act of rebellion—when you step off the treadmill and allow yourself to be still.

This trip to France isn’t about museums or monuments. It’s about reconnecting with the genuine beauty of family—the kind that doesn’t need you to be your best, only your real self. The kind that laughs at your French and still pours you another glass of wine.

This morning, before heading to the airport, we stopped at a quiet Starbucks. For once, the world was still—until a Tesla whipped in, cutting us off so its driver could order first—a perfect symbol of modern impatience: fast, self-charging, and morally superior.

For a second, my blood boiled. Seriously? Then I caught myself.

“Relax, Patrick,” I thought. “You’re going to Paris, not purgatory.”

I took a breath, and that’s when beauty stopped by—not in a sunrise or a song, but in the choice to stay calm. To forgive.

In a world optimized for speed and outrage, patience might be the last beautiful thing left.

Because beauty doesn’t stay where it’s forced; it simply stops by when you’re ready to notice it.

I’m Patrick Ball. Stay curious, ask questions. See you next time.

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