Dear friends,
When I was little, like many of us, holidays were few and far between. When I did go away it was quite the event and I was duty bound to spend the first part of the week choosing, writing and posting cards to loved ones at home (especially the grandparents!). I would generally pick a picture which reflected something of the place I was staying – perhaps a particular monument or architectural beauty that was nearby. It would be a sight which probably had moved me, interested me or that I wanted to remember. Of course, these days, because of mobile phones, the art of sending postcards has almost disappeared whilst many spend their holiday uploading very ‘arty’ pictures of objects in foreign lands seen in a different way, famous beauty spots from unusual angles and pictorial reflections from their holiday place of choice – many of which are thought provoking and cause us to reflect on the variety and diversity of our created world.
Our ability to capture images of beauty have vastly increased. From phones to drones, from videos to close up pictures of the miniature, we can save and admire the beautiful on a wide scale. I guess that’s one reason why David Attenborough’s series of the natural world are so popular and lasting… they show beauty in all its uniqueness.
As this reminded me of a phrase attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson, the American writer and philosopher: he wrote: “Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us, or we find it not.” In other words, if we know beauty within us, we are more able to recognise it elsewhere. And conversely as we recognise beauty outside ourselves, we will more ably recognise it within. It makes me wonder where we might see beauty during these summer months… and how much do we recognise the beauty within us?
Following on, if it is not too much of a stretch from Emerson’s quote, I began to wonder whether his words might also apply to our awareness of God. We might search for God in all the far flung places, in cathedrals, churches, beauty spots… but we will probably not find Him, unless we already know the God within. And likewise, if we know the presence of God within, then the likelihood is great that we will find Him in every place we visit, in every person that we meet, in every experience we have. It is the idea of God being able to be found in all things, as St Ignatius said.
So, enjoy the summer, one and all, whether you are away or at home, finding beauty and God in usual and unusual places, people and things!
with love, Liz