Beauty–
Sunrise on Mount Haleakala, Maui on my 25th Anniversary. Standing in the dark in the chilled air of early morning waiting for the dawn with anticipation I began to ponder the essence of beauty. As we stood above the clouds at 10,000 ft the first beams of light came over the horizon. You could hear people gasp for breath as they were awe-struck. A wonderful quiet came over the onlookers as if to say, ” This moment of majesty should not be disturbed by trifling speech.” It was beautiful!
Beauty is radiant
In the course of living I have come to conclude that beauty is NOT in the eye of the beholder. Beauty is in fact not relative to ones own interpretation. Although there is some subjectivity to how one sees beauty, the essence of what is beautiful is unchanging. Creation reflects a beauty that is absolute. Because the human experience is enhanced by beauty and that which is beautiful, grasping essence of beauty becomes a worthwhile pursuit.
To be beautiful the essence of the thing must have beauty. Beauty is not a reflection it is a radiance, an out raying. Colors, sounds, words, thoughts, figures, and relationships all can be beautiful. Until I understood that creation and all it beauty carried a message I really never appreciated it. How we see beauty may differ but whether it is beautiful is not a question. If there is no beauty in it is not beautiful.
To be beautiful then one must have the essence of beauty within. An attractive thing with no beauty is not beautiful. I read a proverb once that said, ” As a ring of gold in a swine’s snout so is a beautiful woman who lacks discretion.” The appeal of form is not beautiful if there is no essence of beauty within.
If we discover BEAUTY then we can live in a BEAUTIFUL way.
I woke up in the middle of the night and heard “eye of the beholder”. I wrote it down in my journal and prayed in the spirit. There is darkness in any of the arts that some proclaim beautiful. Who makes the distinction then ? Matt 6:22,23 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light.
What a beautiful blog, I always have a sense of greater than myself when encountering beauty. The subtle nature of encounters with beauty in the day to day experiences of our lives belies the grace and majesty of the moment. Thank you for your thoughts.
He has made your pen beautiful
What a wonderful way to express beauty! And an interesting thought concept inspired by Laura’s post – does the beholder have beauty in their eyes? God is beautiful, no matter what. But how often do we fail to see His beauty? Or is our view of beauty corrupted by the the definitions of beauty established by the world’s systems? Yes, beauty is unchanged, but is that unchanged beauty in your eyes? May our eyes never cease to be filled with the beauty of the Lord!