Beauty

Earth's crammed with heaven,
and every common bush afire with God;
but only he who sees takes off his shoes;
the rest sit around and pluck blackberries.

- Elizabeth Barrett Browning
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My life has become a delightful journey of encountering my Love in the many places He hides. He has created me with a thirst for beauty and with a desire to reflect and create beauty, just as He does. Wherever I go, I find that the greatest life-giving moments are to be found when I am basking in or fostering beauty in my life or the lives of those around me.

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We don't have to go far to find the treasure we are seeking. There is beauty and goodness right where we are. And only when we can see the beauty and goodness that are close by can we recognize beauty and goodness on our travels far and wide. There are trees and flowers to enjoy, paintings and sculptures to admire; most of all there are people who smile, play, and show kindness and gentleness. They are all around us, to be recognized as free gifts to receive in gratitude.

Our temptation is to collect all the beauty and goodness surrounding us as helpful information we can use for our projects. But then we cannot enjoy it, and we soon find that we need a vacation to restore ourselves. Let's try to see the beauty and goodness in front of us before we go elsewhere to look for it.

- Henri Nouwen
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May my journey into His heart of beauty be a sweet taste in your mouth.