During these days and weeks of staying at home, my brief local excursions are not only for exercise but also to soak in the flowering of nature in this later-than-usual springtime. When we see so much suffering going on in the world around us, it’s important to remind ourselves that there is beauty as well and to seek to experience that beauty.
My photo excursions lately have been beauty-seeking excursions. My eye is drawn to the waking up of the natural world around me. Fresh air, flowers, sunny skies, and exercise are a healthy change from being indoors so much.
It’s interesting to reflect on what we are drawn to, when we have time to sit and meditate. What practices do we find life-giving, when we see illness and death affecting so many people around us? What is it that inspires gratitude in us? What is it that keeps us from dwelling on negative thinking and judging? Who or what lifts us up?
Ultimately we are drawn to seek God, and any attraction to what is good helps us in that journey to the divine. St. Augustine tells us that our hearts are restless until they rest in God. The drive for God is built in to our humanity. Our pursuit of beauty is in the end a search for God, who will fill our empty places and satisfy our longings for truth, beauty, and life.
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