Our Inability to See Beauty – Daily Meditation 12.21.23

Today’s quotation:

Our inability to see beauty doesn’t suggest that beauty is not there. Instead, it indicates that we are not looking carefully enough or with a broad enough perspective to see the beauty. -Harold Kushner
“God’s Fingerprints on the Soul”

Today’s Meditation:

This is true, of course, whether we’re talking about beautiful things within our view or the beauty inside a person–we often don’t see it simply because we’re not paying attention in a way that would allow us to see it.  Often, our beliefs keep us from seeing the beauty inside someone–“This isn’t a beautiful person,” we think, so we’re blind to the true beauty that is an integral part of the person.  Or we’re driving through a place that we know is ugly, so we don’t keep our eyes open for the beauty that is there.

It’s quite a shame that our perspectives limit our perception so much and so often.  It would be wonderful if we could see all the beauty there to be seen all the time, but I think we can be satisfied if we can teach ourselves to learn to see more of it.  Perhaps we’ll never see all of it, but it would enrich our lives immensely if we could see more.

Seeing and feeling beauty can be very important to us.  When we’re in the presence of beauty–which is almost always, in one way or another–the world feels brighter, richer, and more friendly.  We can see hope in the beauty of flowers, wonder in the beauty of wild animals, and peace in the beauty of a sunrise or sunset.  When we don’t see beauty, we experience less awe and wonder, which are feelings that help us feel in touch with our spirits.

We are spiritual creatures, and beauty is food for our spirits.  Our worlds are full of beauty in many different forms, and it’s important that we make an effort to be seers of beauty, that we broaden our perspectives to allow ourselves to see the beauty that’s beyond the surface, the deeper beauty that takes a bit more effort to notice, but that enriches us greatly when we learn how to see it.

Questions to consider:

Why is so much beauty hidden from us?

In what ways might you be able to broaden your perspective to see more beauty?

What are some of the most beautiful things you know others don’t see as much as you do?

For further thought:

We were made to enjoy music, to enjoy beautiful sunsets, to enjoy looking at the billows of the sea, and to be thrilled with a rose that is bedecked by dew. . . . Human beings are actually created for the transcendent, for the sublime, for the beautiful, for the truthful. . . and all of us are given the task of trying to make this world a little more hospitable to these beautiful things. -Desmond Tutu

If you missed our last Daily Meditation, it is here.