Why do we gravitate toward the beautiful? What is it that touches our soul when we see a stunning sunset or a newborn baby or a cherry tree in all its pink splendour? I have been thinking about this a lot and I don't think it's just the superficiality of something that pleases the eye. Yes, that's part of it, but I think the answer lies much deeper than that.
Have you ever met someone who you thought was beautiful but as you got to know them, their beauty somehow faded in your eyes? Conversely have you ever met someone seemingly ordinary, but as you got to know them, they become more and more beautiful? You suddenly notice the twinkle in their eyes, or how pretty they look when they smile, or how their laugh warms your heart? I think this is because beauty is tied to truth and goodness. Finding someone to be true and good makes them start to glow with beauty. Finding someone to be deceitful and wicked changes your perception of how they look and they become ugly right before your very eyes.
The ultimate source of everything good, true and beautiful is God. Although we can't exactly look at Him, we can look at His creation. There is something about the beauty of creation that inexplicably draws us into awe and wonder, which lead us to go beyond ourselves and beyond that particular moment in time. We catch glimpses of what life would be like if the world was not so full of sin and evil and pollution and corruption and we yearn for things to be better. This yearning is more than just wishful thinking for an earthly utopia; I think it's actually a deep desire for communion with God and the paradise that He originally created for us.
But we aren't in paradise anymore and until we reach heaven, beauty is only fleeting. I went cherry blossom hunting with my friend the other day. We found some trees that were still budding, some that were in full bloom and some that had already faded and lost a lot of their flowers. The beauty of the flower reminds us that we are here today and gone tomorrow. We need to live in the moment, since that's all we have. But the impermanence of beauty also carries an element of sadness. We wish for lasting beauty, for eternal beauty. One day when we reach heaven, everything will in fact be beautiful and perfect and eternal. But until then, we wait and try to appreciate those fleeting moments of beauty that we do see.
In an increasingly dark and depressing world, however, looking for beauty and stopping to appreciate it is a kind of rebellion. It is defiantly choosing to reflect on what is good and lovely and true, not in a naive, Pollyanna-like way, but as an act of gratitude and appreciation. The Bible actually tells us, "whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things." (Phil 4:8). It can be a tall order, but I am reminded of the quote that "it is easy to be heavy; hard to be light." Focusing on what is still good and lovely is hard, but worth the effort. So, you will find me defiantly loving life and stopping to appreciate the beauty all around me.
