The beauty of the natural world is an unadulterated gift given to all of us. It is heaven on earth. When we feel out of sorts, and our disquiet begins to gnaw away at whatever peace we have, retreating to some natural space, near water, in the mountains, in the wide-open spaces of the plains, in the natural monuments Mother Nature created, soothes us and restores an elemental peace.

If we nurture ourselves in nature, peace descends on us like a warm blanket on a cold night. And if we can’t immerse ourselves in a natural environment, it will be enough to simply look at the sky at sunrise or sunset, or when the stars and moon have come out to keep us company through the long dark night. Or look at the tree in your yard, or the flower on your window sill, or the smile of someone you love. The beauty of nature is never really any farther away than taking a moment to be still and breathe, and observe whatever is around us.

Beauty Is Our Response-ability Too

The world is God’s canvas. But God has also given us the ability to create beauty through using our talents and our passions. Creating something beautiful doesn’t require that we create what others would call masterpieces. Simple things like a smile, a kind word, being fully-present to another person are also things of beauty and within anyone’s power to create.

So, when we feel overwhelmed with the discord that is around us or within us, recognizing beauty—whether in a child’s smile, a snow-covered mountain, or black night filled with twinkling stars—will restore our peace.

 

 

“A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.”
― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“Our task must be to free ourselves… by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty.”
― Albert Einstein

“I don’t think of all the misery, but of the beauty that still remains.”
― Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl

Reflection Questions

The full list of questions for meditation and reflection are in the Novena for Peace Ritual, Questions, & Prayers.

Today I suggest we reflect on the beauty that is in us, around us, and ours to create.