Beauty Abounds
Oftentimes, I don’t get out much. Recently, my wife was surprised to learn that I was not even familiar with our own neighborhood. Mind you, we’ve lived there for eight months. You turn left at the top of the hill to go to our house. The road continues on, though I never had.
So, I took walk. I walk quite often, yet had never done so in the neighborhood. I discovered it is a very nice neighborhood! In fact, as soon as I finish writing this meditation, I may need to pull some weeds and mow my yard!
Beyond the confines of our home, which suit me just fine, is a beautiful neighborhood complete with variation of architecture, blooming flowers, large scale spider webs, manicured lawns, nice people. I realized: I’m glad to be a part of.
The next day I went for another walk. This time I traveled to the neighborhood across the road from ours. Again, though different, beauty abounded. I met an elderly couple as they slaved away on their lawn and garden, saw flowers of all shapes and colour, enjoyed beauty.
When I finished with that subdivision I turned left, away from my route home, and within twenty paces discovered a small cemetery up on a hill. Ascending to the private place of rest I found hidden, indescribable, beauty. I began making the Sign of the Cross, saying the Paschal troparian: “Christ is Risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life!” And, without even noticing: “Glory to thee, O our God! Glory to thee!”
Sometimes we just don’t get out much. In the confines of our post-modern daily life, the temptation is toward indoor pampering, neighbor-less living. It could be that salvation lies just outside our door. Especially if the above remembrance is understood in a broader sense – e.g., our home, our parish, our jurisdiction – perhaps we should all get out more. To quote Dostoyevski, “The world will be saved by beauty.”
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Fr Joseph Huneycutt
