Seeking Beauty .... by Jocelyn Faire

I don't think of all the misery

but of the beauty that still remains.

  Anne Frank

Often when asked to give a self-descriptor, I have listed myself as a seeker of beauty …

I join David in Psalm 27:4
One thing I ask from the Lord,
this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord
and to seek him in his temple

Simone Weil has said that two things that pierce the soul are beauty and suffering. When I ponder and experience these two, I know that both draw my soul to God; and I know beyond a doubt that the beauty in my life is what has kept me afloat many a time. While beauty may be in the eyes of the beholder, it is also the universal gift created by God to nudge us into relation with Him and dependence on Him. To clarify when I speak of beauty I mean that essence which takes your breath away, the things that move our souls. Suffering also draws us to Him, but in a much more painful way. Suffering feels inflicted more than gifted.

Beauty in nature is especially captivating. When I find a tiny flower in a forlorn spot, wildflowers in Australia, or watch the sunset over the oceans deep, a canola field in bloom next to blue flax in Manitoba; when I kayak a clear lake, or sit in the majesty of the Rocky Mountains, or spot the tiny blossom that sprouts from pavement cracks, my heart is aware that this is reminder of the hand of God in all places. 

In The Journey of Desire, John Eldredge nails it on the head for me ... he tells the story of a woman sitting in his office for counsel, years after a rape. She depicts the devastation which has lingered .... he notices an embroidered flower on her shirt; at its mention she speaks of beauty. It has been the only thing that has helped her cope in life. Sometimes she had to sit in the presence of beauty to allow her breath to continue. In proportion to the grief, I have needed the solace of beauty in my journey to life again.

Some days when the sun shines brightly I can wonder how could it ever have been so dark? Then I meet up with someone else who has lost a child, and I know that deep pain alongside them, I sense that looming black hole. These encounters remind me of the verses in 2 Cor 1, of sharing comfort for people in hard times, as God has done for me. My friend Dorothy tells me that my frequent reference to beauty in ordinary places has had her eyes open wide to it as well. I want to encourage others and myself to sense God's presence in all situations; His beauty is healing.

Finding flowers in remote spots is my evidence of God's ubiquitous grace. I wonder who will ever see them? Then I ask ... did you place this here just for me? Was that rainbow a reminder for me at the right time? At times the answer seems yes it was for me-it certainly was what I needed. At the same time I am aware that these events of beauty happen all around us. Beauty is heaven and earth's creative way of declaring the glory of the Lord.

Lord keep the eyes of my heart open ...
If I could put beauty to paper, images to word
paint to canvas, music to rhythm ...
If I could snap the right photo,
Hold a hand in time, seize the waterfall,
Even the dandelion pulled out as a weed
holds more beauty than words can tell
Tree of Life, Beauty of Love ...

Lord, I am left speechless, but not without beauty.

Searching through my photos for this post reminded me that God has continually surrounded me with His beauty, with His presence because it is found everywhere, in all countries, all climates. Flowers blossom both in the garbage heap and on spectacular coastlines.

Let me include three lines from my poem:

What are you looking for?
I'm looking for me, I am looking for You
I'm looking amidst beauty, because that is where I want to be found.

Guilty Pleasures ... by Jocelyn Faire

Pleasure was to be viewed with suspicion in the hard-working, religious community of

 
my childhood. It was not high on the to do list. Although my family did not fit into the church community, when I became a Christian, it came with a list of Thou Shalt Nots. Thou shalt not have pleasure, well not too much. But one could find guilt-free pleasure in hard work and church activity.

Pleasure as noted in my online dictionary is defined as: enjoyment and entertainment, contrasted with things done out of necessity. Most of daily life is done out of necessity.

Pleasure –A more recently acquired taste.

I have two women I connect with on a deep spiritual level, and for the past four years we have begun the tradition of The Pink Mountain Retreat, to enjoy life, to encourage each other, and to drink in God's beauty. In one of the earlier times as we were eating and laughing, Rita said, she envisioned God smiling down on us, taking pleasure in the three of us enjoying our time. I must admit, my mind questioned her idea. Would God really take pleasure in us having a good/rich time?

I am beginning to believe so. John Eldredge in his book, Beautiful Outlaw, retells the story of Jesus' meeting the disciples on the beach after he has risen. It is Jesus' familiarity with his friends, the way he casually approaches them, and then asks about the fishing (again) and suggests as he had once before – Why not try the other side? – implying an insider joke. As if he delighted in their company.

When do I feel God's delight? In good company, where the spirit connects.

And in the presence of Beauty.

I have listed myself as a seeker of beauty. When I am in the presence of beauty, I feel the Father's pleasure. The skies, the oceans, the flowers, the mountains speak comfort and caring into my soul. Beauty is God's universal gift to us, it is found everywhere.

John O'Donohue in his book Beauty, The Invisible Embrace has said that: “Beauty touches and renews our hope when it takes us out of the grid of ordinary time and brings us to another place, a place where history ceases and the weight of memory relents, a place ever ancient and ever new ... No one is ever immune to beauty. Regardless of background, burdens or limitations, when we find ourselves in a place of great beauty, clarity, recognition and excitement awaken in us. ... there is an eternal beckoning of the heart that touches what is still innocent in us.”

God is at the heart of the Big Picture Beauty.

The soul needs beauty as much as it needs love.

What advice would I give to someone who is discouraged and needs to feel God’s pleasure?

To seek out beauty.

Ruthlessly eliminate hurry.

Take the time to waste time in the presence of beauty. (Guilt free!)

In thinking about the Father's Day, and beauty this song springs to mind:

This is my Father's world,

 and to my listening ears
all nature sings, and round me ringsthe music of the spheres.
This is my Father's world:
I rest me in the thought
of rocks and trees, of skies and seas;
his hand the wonders wrought.

Jocelyn is author of the book Who is Talking out of My Head?  

She blogs about hope in the hard places at:  http://whoistalking.wordpress.com

 

Chasing the Light ... by Jocelyn Faire

What do you do to re-energize yourself for writing?

Live creatively, friends...

Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don't be impressed with yourself, Don't compare yourself with others. **Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life.** Galatians 6:1, 4,5  The Message

Last summer I shadowed my photographer nephew on a job, as he chased the light in search of the best image. Energy flowed as I spent time with him.

The morning skies tinged with pink ...

The golden glow of the lowering sun

The play of shadows and light

Angles, shutter speeds, aperture and focus

It was a vivid picture for me as we focused on capturing the best light. Just as Joel pursued the right light for his work, I realize I seek beauty, which is also light, to energize my creativity.

Perhaps at the root cause of our reluctance to take the artist date, is a failure to see God as the creator of beauty, as the one who wants to be my date to fill up the (ink)well. I come from a strong work ethic, where productivity was valued over creativity. Creativity and its pursuit would be what happened after all the work was done, and where work was never done, it seemed artistic pursuit time was almost non-existent. At the heart of the matter, though, I still fall for the line that doing is more important than being. In a Martha world, the Mary artistic endeavours are easily ignored, or relegated to time when everything else has been done. Too often I feel I should not read a book, write poetry, craft, or saunter unless I have put in a certain amount of “work.” But if we do not understand the importance of nurturing the soul, we allow atrophy to happen.

I list myself as a seeker of beauty. A journal in hand, a mug of hot tea or coffee on a bench alongside the river, is where I am often found, in all seasons. Sunrises, sunsets are one of my ways of chasing the light. This past week, over dinner with two soul sisters, we oohed and aahed as pinks and oranges blazed across the snowy mountain tops for a full 50 minutes, as the artist played with the clouds.

Sunrise, sunset, subdued or bright,

The light that shines in the dark,

light that brings beauty to myself

and then flows out to those I meet.

If I do not take time to come apart

I will come apart.

As I chase the light in order to write

Spending time in the word, nature and music

The ultimate light to be chased is God.

Your eyes are windows into your body. If you open your eyes wide in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light. 

Matt 6:22 The Message

Jocelyn is the author of Who is Talking out of My Head?  - grief as an out of body experience
She blogs at:  http://whoistalking.wordpress.com