I spent the afternoon blowing leaves. I highly recommend it if you are into watching patches of reds and yellows swirling about decorating your life. I felt like I was Jackson Pollock splashing about getting ready for an exhibition. Truly nothing he ever did comes close to what I was doing. My art was living for there was a breeze coming out of the north. Obviously I was bright enough to blow the leaves southward. Even still there were moments of futility if one’s purpose was to clear the yard. But I had the reward of just watching them blow. Everything we do in life doesn’t have to be practical. Sometimes the reward is beauty. And that is enough.
I watched my dog sitting with her face to the wind staring at our mountain. What was she thinking? Was she merely enjoying the pleasure of the wind in her face or did she also see the beauty on the mountain? Are we the only creatures to enjoy aesthetics? I think she is beautiful. What does she think of me?
The enjoyment of beauty is a wonderful gift from God. Philosophers for millennia have sought to define it. How is it that something beautiful to one is not so to another? It is obvious that we see with our brains and not with our eyes. Surely anyone who has ever been rescued from death thinks his or her rescuer is beautiful. Thus Jesus, who rescued us from an eternity of death, is by far the most beautiful being in the Universe. We will never tire of thinking of new ways to praise Him and new names we can call Him.
“How beautiful upon the mountain are the feet of him that brings glad tidings.” Isaiah 52:7
Written by Roger Bothwell on October 30, 2015
Spring of Life, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
Rogerbothwell.org