(unedited)

We were made to cultivate beauty.

Cultivating beauty looks different to each person, because it is based on a worldview entirely unique to the individual – informed by culture, yet beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. Beauty is a revelation of the intimate communion between the Creator and the creation for the whole world to enjoy.

Manifestations of beauty can be one-of-a-kind or generally mundane. I find beauty in textiles at the store, the majesty of the mountains, a chord strummed on the guitar… even a simple word such as “cherish” reminds me to reflect on the beauty which is continually flowing around me.

Earth was created with humanity in mind. Throughout generations, many architects, artists, politicians, philosophers, etc. have cultivated their surroundings to bring about something greater than what they started with. From chaos, a semblance of order was created.

Details reveal the intentionality of one meditating on beauty. For instance, food can be the most rote of all my tasks in a given day. When I am eating alone, my meal may be served in tinfoil or Tupperware. However, when others come into my home, I bring out my beautiful porcelain plates and bowls who sit in the cupboard calling out. Candles dance to a tune softly playing in the background. No longer is the meal simply for sustenance’s sake, it becomes an offering – a tool of hospitality to those at my table. An atmosphere is created to reveal the value of the person at my table.

True art is not relegated to ticketed rooms, it cannot be kept behind glass. Oh, no. True art is living and breathing within each of us. Art and beauty are calling out, like the porcelain on the shelf, to our very soul.