Like most teenagers, I was interested in doing things and not observing. If someone said “beauty” I immediately thought of a pretty girl. My Mother was an avid gardener with a variety of flowers and raising roses was her specialty and love. Did I appreciate the tender folds of the bloom, the delicate colors or the tightly wrapped buds prior to the unfolding of an inspiring bloom? No, I only saw the thorns, the plants to be weeded and the need to bed the plants down for the winter. I was too interested in my life, my sphere, my friends and my needs.

When did the change occur? Actually, I always saw the beauty in so many ways in my wife, Ruth, but the real appreciation of beauty occurred with the birth of our first child, Nancy. For the first time I marveled at the structure of the little fingers, the first emergent smile and the pleasure I felt looking at her: the eyes, the tiny mouth and everything, although small, was perfectly made. This was real beauty. I felt the same way when Tom and Jane entered this world also.

Through camping the natural world became real and a source of enjoyment and I could see the beauty in nature. The organization and arrangement of flowers, trees, mountains, clouds, lakes – all add to a sense of beauty. However, it is at Lookout Point Ranch in Colorado where beauty really comes alive. I became interested in the wildflowers, each with their distinctive flower shape and color. The nighttime sky is a marvel of thousands of twinkling lights moving across the blackened Colorado sky. The snowcapped mountains are always present in their stately, majestic beauty. As an aside, I tease my teenage grandchildren who climb Colorado’s glorious mountains and never observe the wildflowers or animals en route. Their objective is to reach the pinnacle and achieve their goal. Not a bad objective, but they miss out on the flora and fauna along the way – they miss some of the beauty.

Over the years I have come to appreciate the beauty residing in people. In fact, the city is a place where we will find that beauty. Buildings are designed for people to live or work and in the mind of the architect I imagine they are structures of beauty, but for most of us it is just a building. The same is true with streets, museums, parks, etc. There is beauty in all of them but it is people that add the spice, energy and diversity to the city. In this there is beauty as we observe and see people in their various lives.

Chicago has a summertime extravaganza called “Taste of Chicago.” It takes place on the lakefront and features all different kinds of cuisine as only a city diverse in nationalities can provide. However, it isn’t the food I enjoy, it is seeing the people, and especially young people flock to the lakefront to taste the food, but mainly to have a good time and see other people. I enjoy the anticipation on their faces and eagerness to participate in something different. There is beauty in their actions as they enter the scene. Maybe the look as they leave may not express pure love. Older people with their interest in food of the heritage and nationality also approach the area with eagerness, and this too is beautiful.

Go to a Chicago Cubs baseball game and see the excitement on the faces of men and women of all ages. The young boys with their ever ready fielder’s glove, the older couple with the man keeping score and his wife who was conned into attending and freighting interest. Then the hometown hero hits a home run and regardless of age, knowledge of baseball, men and women all stand up and cheer as if they had won the lottery. There is beauty in all of this.

 The point I am making is we can find beauty everywhere. We should just look for it. For many a symphony orchestra playing a Beethoven masterpiece, a visit to an art museum, a boat ride on Lake Michigan is beautiful. Others see beauty in a well run factory or an inspiring church service, but behind it all are people using their abilities, talents, and energy to make things happen, and this I think is beautiful.

Some reading this will think of a dozen other ways in which beauty is portrayed and I agree, but I have listed a few and hope the reader will be encouraged to enlarge their scope and variety of beauty.

Learning Activities 4

Exercises

Reading for Details