Emerson's "Self Reliance"

There is some writing that I have always adored and that I read and reread.  And each time I spend some time with this piece, I read something new in it.  It is Emerson's "Self Reliance".  I recently found a cool blog activity, a 30-day writing challenge associated with others who love his writing, that I want to do.
Here.
On this blog.Tee Hee.  I hope this entertains as much as I plan on enjoying it!

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Jan 20, I've decided to NOT blog this as it is quite TMI, 

but I'm leaving this post in case anyone is interested in the project. 

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Here is today's PROMPT from Self Reliance:

Ordinary Things by Ana Guardia

“Every artist was first an amateur.”

To be an artist one has to find beauty in ordinary things. 

Find 10 things of great beauty in the landscape that surrounds you. 

For example, crumple sheets on your bed in the morning, 

the smell of coffee making its way around a busy office.

1. The sound of my son and daughter singing a song together in the other room.
2. The smooth shiny wood of the desk top
3. This adorable little box in which I keep my flossers handy.
4. In front of me is an old picture of my Aunt Elizabeth, age about 98 in the picture.  She is wearing a striped orange sweatshirt and a ski cap.
5. Hanging on the desk lamp is a small stuffed purple dragon keychain given to me by a young and sweet friend of the family.  He brought it to me and handed it to me with a smile.
6. On the table across the room is a pile of new books, purchased for my reading fever.  They are stacked haphazardly, next to the new sofa lamp.
7. Sticking out of the letter holder on this desk is a small circle of embroidered fabric that I created one night using the pretty threads I had purchased for another project.  Just a random pattern that I created as I stitched.
8. My glass sits on a beautifully painted wooden coaster sent to me by my friend Rayven from Okinawa.  Probably junk souvenirs for the tourists, but painted with leaping dolphins against a red sunset.
9. In front of me is a business card sent to me by my sister Brenda in Colorado.  It is really beautiful.  A sky blue on one with with her contact information, a color image of some gorgeous Colorado landscape.  
10. and Sitting beside my computer is a stack of Holiday cards, all of them a mini-microcosm of the sender's faith and creed.

Lovely, I am surrounded by beauty.