On Beauty

"Life is not just a succession of events or experiences: it is a search for the true, the good and the beautiful. It is to this end that we make our choices; it is for this that we exercise our freedom; it is in this – in truth, in goodness, and in beauty – that we find happiness and joy. We must not allow ourselves to be deceived by those who see us merely as consumers in a market of undifferentiated possibilities, where choice itself becomes the good, novelty usurps beauty, and subjective experience displaces truth."

~ Pope Benedict XVI (New Technologies, New Relationships.)

I love this quote by Benedict. It is true, life is about truth, beauty, goodness. It is nice to keep it simple. This particular phrase 'Verum, Pulchrum, Bonum' (truth, beauty, goodness) is especially ingrained in my mind since it was the slogan for my highschool. As a person studies God's glory, these three virtues take on many sides and dimensions, there is so much to learn.

A week ago Mike and I had fancy sit-down dinner with about 10 adults who all read the book "The Godless Delusion" which is about atheism. One topic that surfaced was Beauty; people talked about how our culture has lost a true sense of what is Beautiful. Much of this stems from the fact that our culture is in a post-Christian era. Everything that is beautiful originates in God - he created Beauty. So, of course, with the absence of God comes the absence of Beauty. Beauty, of course, can apply to artwork, people, creation, ideas, books - beauty can be found in every aspect of our lives. It is something, I would argue, that we as human beings are created to crave. We want it, we look for it, we revel in beauty when we do find it. The wonderful thing is, is that everything beautiful is an imitation of our God and beauty always points us back to him.

Soon after our discussion I had a dream (I have so many many dreams while I'm pregnant!!) that I was back in my seventh grade art class painting. I secretly always desired to be a good artist - I distinctly remember wanting to have the talents my classmates had as they produced gorgeous imitations of artwork in watercolor, pastels, and colored pencils. I was inspired that night to take out some paints and sketch an imitation of one of Mary Cassatt's paintings. I have always loved her artwork - often her subject matter is mother and children. When I was in highschool our family took a trip to the Chicago Art Institute and there was a special Mary Cassatt exhibit that drew me in. What I produced in an hour is certainly nothing to display, but it is fun to think of making an attempt to imitate something that is beautiful and meaningful. Since good artwork intrinsically directs a person back to God, it is a privilege to even try to imitate such beautiful art. For me, people and faces are especially hard to paint maybe because individuals are complicated beings! :)