Days like those are so rare, so few and far between. In the midst of the chaos of life, it's the short, momentary glimpses of beauty that remind us that there things in this life still worth cherishing...still worth protecting...still worth fighting for. These are the moments that make us want to keep going... keep hoping. They make us want to see what else lies around that corner, make us want to climb to the top of the mountain and see what's on the other side. They remind us that all the struggle we face on this earth isn't all there is.The beauty that we experience is a broken beauty. Not just because we live in a world that is flawed, tainted, and worn, but because so many of us are, on the inside, broken. Beauty is, indeed, in the eyes of the beholder. And when the heart of a beholder is broken, his eyes won't perceive the world around him the way that he's meant to perceive it. So much of what we see is distorted by our pain. And so much beauty is ruined and destroyed day by day by a variety of forces. I think the fact that we miss so much and that so much is lost is a testament to just how messed up everything really is. Every small glimpse of beauty that we see, I believe, is a gift...a sign post...a way that we're reminded and drawn back to things that are good. Many wonder about, but even less seek, the source of beauty. We seek it to capture it, to chamber it in our minds and hearts so that we can go back to it, especially in our old age. But beauty itself doesn't last. Buildings wear down, lilies and roses die, and we as human beings, our minds, our youth, our words, ideas, and passions...they all fade...as does our ability to experience and remember things once beautiful.
I love traveling and live music. There is so much of this world I have not yet seen, places that my minds eye has yet to admire. Whenever I travel somewhere I always want to be able to capture what I see. I want to able to show people what I've seen and look back on my time...I love the showmanship and energy of live concerts, the way that musicians and venues blend light and sound while telling a story, communicating an idea, or expressing an emotion. But I realize that there are certain sights and sounds, pictures and melodies that aren't meant to be experienced through a lens or a filter. It's an extremely hard thing for me to do, but sometimes it's best to just put the camera away and see the world through my own eyes...eyes that haven't yet faded that can see all the intricacies of the smallest flowers, the patters on the tree trunks, the lights of the city, and the grains of white sand through crystal blue water. It's better to just take in the words of a song, listen to the story, and let it resonate within your soul, singing it back with a hundred thousand people that, for a brief moment, you have found something in common with...even though you know that the music will soon become silence...
Whether it's spending time with someone we love, enjoying the vibrance and wonder of nature, letting our hearts get swept away by a word, a song, a dance...or saying your vows to the one that is soon to be your other half...this is the fleeting, raw beauty you cannot manufacture. When it's before you, take the moment to wonder at it, admire it, and savor it. And when it has passed, keep going. Keep hoping. Be thankful that you could experience it. The only way we can see the greatest beauty in this world is when we take our eyes off ourselves and look up. We should all seek beauty in the world without, but there is broken beauty within each of us, as well, waiting to be made whole...waiting to be brought out in its fullest for the world to be able to see. When that happens, that is the beauty in this world that does not fade."The grass withers and the flowers fade, the word of our God endures forever." -Isaiah 40:8-
*photos by Paul Jacala, Copyright 2014
Wonderfully written. Interesting that you noted that weddings are beautiful and to quote you " I admire the vision and dreaming that is put into them, and, when the day finally comes, the emotion, the anticipation, the joy that is finally realized in the celebration of a man and a woman becoming one. I feel like like it's one of the few things that we as human beings do best." There are a lot of parallels between preparation for this union between a man and a woman and the preparation of the church for that eventual and triumphal union of the bride which is the "people of God" with the bridegroom "the Promised One" pictured in Scripture by Paul in Ephesians with separation and purification (Ephesians 5:25) and the great love - "that for this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and be joined unto his wife, and the two shall be one flesh - this is a great mystery, but I speak of Christ and the church" Eph 5:31-32. Just as the beauty is broken that you describe within us but God is continually creating a beauty within each of us, which he has adopted, so that we, in the end, will be presented to him without blemish. Albeit, that beauty is created through suffering and pain. Suffering and pain are the crucibles with which we are purified. Don't get me wrong, even if there is suffering and pain there can still be joy, joy in the hope and anticipation that the fleeting pain and suffering is nothing in the perspective of the eternal. And to quote you "The only way we can see the greatest beauty in this world is when we take our eyes off ourselves and look up." and to look out for the promise of the bridegroom. The bridegroom will fulfill what he has promised, and the broken beauty will be made whole.
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