From Summer Vacation to Fall Education: It’s time to make the switch
German writer, scientist, and politician Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote: “A person should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of their life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.”
Roman Catholic monk, author, and activist Thomas Merton wrote, “October is a fine and dangerous season in America. It is dry and cool, and the land is wild with red and gold and crimson, and all the lassitudes of August have seeped out of your blood, and you are full of ambition. It is a wonderful time to begin anything at all.”
This month showcases beauty as nearby mountains glisten with fresh snowpack. Forests cascade showers of red, gold, orange, yellow, crimson, russet, scarlet, purple, bronze, and pink shades over successive weeks. Breathtaking beauty is built into the local landscape. We know it when we see it, but how does one define beauty itself?
Thirteenth century philosopher and theologian Thomas Aquinas defined beauty as “this which, when seen, pleases.” Others have included different elements of beauty such as clarity, proportion, wholeness, and harmony. Beauty moves us, stops us in our tracks, and when encountering it we say, “Wow!”
While beauty parades itself throughout our landscape, let us not miss its presence elsewhere. Consider beauty in music, architecture, mathematics, poetry, pottery, photography, food preparation and presentation, painting, carpentry, and interior design. Such occasions for seeking and finding beauty in our world mean that beauty pervades all aspects of our society.
This is a month when, full of ambition, we can begin discovering new beauty all around us.
- How can we enrich our soul with such beauty?
- How can we share that beauty with others?
- How can we beautify our community so that together we say, “Wow!”
Rev. Dr. Sybrant serves at Murray Hills Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). For more info, visit us at 15050 SW Weir Road, Beaverton. www.murrayhills.org | 503-524-5230
