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.

Comments

The Compass of Cuba: Mom

🎄 Preview of this week's On the Fly blog: A Holiday Tribute to Mom. As the holidays hustle with pixels and beeps, the world scrolls along in a smartphone-y sleep. I log off for a moment—just one little minute— To breathe in the past and to sit myself in it. My mind doesn’t wander to faraway places, Or trips full of tickets and new airport faces. Instead, it drifts backward, as memories do, to Cuba, Illinois, where the best moments grew. To a home full of warmth, in the wintry Midwest, Where my mother—dear “Marcie”—put love to the test. With a smile that could melt the most frigid of dawns, and hugs that hung on you like shivering fawns. She came from La Rochelle in France, brave and bright, Across oceans and war shadows, into new light. A town full of strangers soon felt like her own, And her courage built up the foundation of home. “Oh yes, we know Marcie!” the locals would say— “It's Doc Ball’s French lady! She brightens the day!” She cleaned, and she cooked, and sh...

Feeling Human Again

In this episode, The Unexpected Thankfulness of Feeling Human Again I’ll be honest with you: My triumphant return from France was not the glamorous homecoming I had imagined. No graceful glide back into routine. No cinematic jet-setter moment where I lift my suitcase off the carousel and wink at life like we’re old pals. Instead? I came home and immediately launched into a two-week performance piece titled The Great American Couch Collapse. My days blurred together in a haze of soup, hot tea, tissues, and desperate negotiations with the universe for just one nostril—one!—to function properly. The living room sofa became my emotional support furniture. And any creative idea that dared tiptoe into my congested brain was gently shown the exit with a firm but courteous, “Not today, friend. Try again later.” When life hits the pause button like that—when you’re exhausted, sick, and mentally unplugged—how do you find your spark again? Somehow, today, I felt it. A tiny shift. A clearing of th...

Believing Is Seeing

🎄 In this episode, Believing Is Seeing . . . It's December, we bustle, we wrap, and we dash. We sort life into boxes— myths here, to-dos in a stash. We whisper of Santa (adult code: “Not Real”), but hold on one minute—let’s rethink this whole deal. For the stories we cherish, the movies we stream, hold more truth in their sparkle than we grown-ups may deem. So hop in this sleigh and hold on real tight— We’re chasing down Santa by the glow of his light! Scott Calvin once landed in the North Pole’s cold air, with elves, cocoa, and snow everywhere. He squinted and frowned—“This just cannot be so!” (Like thinking tangled lights will detangle if we blow .) Then Judy the Elf gave a cocoa so steaming, and said something simple . . . yet surprisingly gleaming: Seeing’s not believing—no, that’s not the key. "Believing is seeing!" Just trust, and you’ll see!” Kids don’t need a map or a satellite screen to know Santa’s workshop is her...

Stamps and Snow

In this episode, Stamps and Snow . . . You don’t usually walk into the local Post Office expecting a time warp . . . but here we are. All we wanted were stamps for this year's Christmas cards— yes, the old-fashioned paper ones that require licking, sticking, and hoping the Postal Service is feeling ambitious this week. But holiday errands have a talent for slowing you down, almost like the universe whispering, “Relax. You’re not getting out of this line any faster anyway.” So we waited. And while we waited, we talked (Are you surprised?). Because the Post Office is one of the few places where people still look up from their phones long enough to talk . . . Maybe it's because they're holding packages. It’s the modern town square: part civic duty, part free entertainment, part sociology experiment. The discussion began with holiday specials streaming on Netflix, Paramount+, and other services during this time of year. One gentleman who has lived in Vista since 1958 told us,...

On The Fly

Search This Blog