Seeing the Beautiful

On the one hand, they say, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”

On the other hand, beauty is not as subjective as it seems. Maybe beauty is more about the ability to see or not. In other words, beauty is everywhere and in everything. My ability to recognize this in my life is somehow connected to joy.

This makes me think then, what helps me to see?

Switzerland is beautiful beyond words. The landscapes and mountains are indescribable—so much so that pictures do not do them justice.

One result of witnessing this kind of beauty is that it captivates you, draws you in, and then sends you out to share it with others. (As you can tell with the pictures I post on my social media outlets).

Yet, beyond the natural beauty of Switzerland, it made me think about my ability to see the beautiful in less obvious places.

How can I see the beauty in those who bother me? How can I see the beauty in the mistakes that I have made? How can I see the beauty in the times when I want to strangle my kids? How can I see the beauty in tragedy?

These are the things that I can’t just will to happen. Seeing the beauty in these things seems to be more of a process—a process of coming to see, a process that involves something, or Someone, bigger than myself.

Men go abroad to wonder at the heights of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motions of the stars, and they pass by themselves without wondering.

-St. Augustine