Beauty surrounds us in nature, art, and music. Yet we often miss the beauty within us. Appreciating the beauty of who we are inspires us and leads us to greater wholeness.
The following is a text version of this posting.
I recently went for an afternoon walk in my neighborhood. It was a warm, sunny day and I wanted to get out and enjoy the day. I got no further than my backyard when I stopped to look at the forsythia bush with its first buds and yellow blossoms. In a couple more weeks, it will be brilliant with yellow flowers. As I turned the bend at end of my street, I was caught off guard by my neighbor’s daffodils in full bloom. Planted among the trees, they brought back memories of my mother’s garden and her prized daffodils.
We often don’t notice but beauty surrounds us. I’m fortunate to live in a city that’s known to be green and forested, but beauty comes into our lives in many ways. Today I want to talk about beauty and how beauty inspires us and evokes us to find something deeper in life. Now is a great time to subscribe to this channel and click the bell.
When I watch the Olympic games, which I look forward to doing in a few weeks, I’m struck by the beauty of young athletes demonstrating their skills in competition. Of course, many people think of beauty and the gymnasts who seem to effortlessly glide, spin, as they jump. But equally beautiful and awe-inspiring are the divers who turn and flip in mid-air seeming to fly. It all conveys strength and ease that is at the heart of beauty.
We encounter beauty in nature, in art and music, performance, and in so many aspects of life. Beauty calls to us. Beauty evokes us to step out of our ordinary preoccupations and experience something deeper, something profound. Beauty, at its heart, speaks to our inner spirit and invites us to find more in life.
For generations, houses of worship have been accented by art of all kinds: stained glass, sculpture, painting, and music precisely to be a source of inspiration for those who enter the space. The hope was to inspire awe for those who came to these places, to draw them beyond their daily preoccupations and to experience something transcendent. This is one way to understand the role of beauty and it’s connection to the human spirit.
Another way is understanding beauty as a way of life. In another video, I spoke of the concept of beauty for the Navajo, the Native American tribe that refers to itself as Dine. In this culture, beauty is about balance and wholeness. To walk or live in beauty is to see beauty around oneself but also within oneself. Yes, to live in that beauty that is both around and within.
Most of us have a great deal of difficulty in finding beauty in ourselves. We purchase all kinds of products to make ourselves beautiful to others. That’s because we’ve come to believe that we’re no good enough as we are, that we are somehow deficient. Perhaps you think, “Oh, that’s true for some people but not for me.” But think about it: When you step out of the shower without clothes and see yourself in a mirror, is your first thought, “What a beautiful person!” Probably not. Instead, we tend to focus on flaws and imperfections. As we age, we are aware that we’ve lost that youthful beauty while failing to recognize the beautiful people we’ve become.
Yet, beauty and its appreciation is of great value for our wholeness. When we fail to see our beauty, we miss who we are. Instead, we see ourselves as broken and not whole.
One of my favorite spiritual writers of the last century, Russian Orthodox Metropolitan Anthony Bloom tells the story of an old monk who lived alone is his cell, really a primitive cabin….
How do we find beauty in ourselves? Perhaps we begin in recognizing the beauty around us – in nature, in art, in music. Then we recognize the beauty in others – not the way glamour magazines tell us to view beauty, the beauty of people, the warmth and glow. And then perhaps we can discover beauty within ourselves. As we recognize it, we become more whole, more complete. Remember, as Carl Sagan often said: We are star dust. The stuff of the stars. That’s literally true. Knowing that you are star dust, allow yourself to glimmer and twinkle with beauty. For beauty is above and below you, in front and behind you, to your right and to your left, and yes, inside of you.
This was such a helpful reminder. Thank you for your thoughts on beauty. I like to see the beauty of flowers and in cloud formations as I find them awe inspiring and peaceful.