Beauty

Beautiful & Terrible

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More than once recently, authors I’m reading have shared this quote:

“Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don’t be afraid.” -Frederick Buechner

The West

The East

The Middle East

Beautiful Waterfalls

Terrible Floods

Beautiful Mountains

Terrible Mudslides

Beautiful Creatures

Terrible Beasts

Beautiful Hearts

Terrible Wounds

Beautiful Words

Terrible Twists

Beautiful Creations

Terrible Destruction

While climbing the mountain, don’t be afraid of falling and miss the view…don’t be afraid of lifting your head long enough to absorb the beauty.

Whenever we’ve experienced beauty, simultaneously, others close by and around the world have endured terrible. It’s challenging to accept this reality. It can be confusing and difficult to hear or to heed the well-intentioned phrase, “Don’t be afraid.”

Maybe that’s why in the 1300’s, a different phrase was offered. A phrase of hope. A more positive nudge to action. “Take heart.” “Take heart” implies finding the strength and courage to face challenges, while “don’t be afraid” can sometimes feel like a dismissive or even a command to suppress natural emotions. “Take heart” encourages an active response to difficult situations, suggesting that we can find the inner resources to overcome obstacles. 

Rather than huddling in siloed fear, we can take heart by openly and collectively assembling in courage.

Rather than douse our minds with worry, we can take heart and ease our spirits with truth.

Rather than suppress our bodies into paralysis, we can take heart to walk, dare run with purposeful action.

After viewing beauty, may your eyes use that filter to interpret the terrible. In the world’s attempt to steal your heart, may you surround yourself with every resource needed to respond, “This heart is mine. It’s not for your taking.”

Take heart as you engage our beautiful and terrible world.

Photo by Artyom Kabajev on Unsplash

Sabbath Beauty

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My Friday night journal entry included a weekend/Sabbath commitment/exercise. Look and make note of beauty for 48 hours.

Of all the observations, these were the four most notable, counting down to #1.

#4

Papa Cleve’s Jamaican ice cream in Miami is legit. The two flavors I chose were Oreo Cheesecake and Coffee. Check out this video: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/15j1T2e8GL/

#3

Came across this song by Benjamin William Hastings. Added to my 2025 Rest playlist. I couldn’t find a “story behind the lyrics.” I have strong suspicions, but I’ll let you listen for the message you get.

#2

Trees are one of my favorite creations. This one a few blocks from my Airbnb in Miami captured me. I had to drive back by to get a quick photo. It doesn’t do it justice. It looks burnt. I’d like to know it’s story. Whatever it is, the message to me is, “I’m still here.”

#1

No picture or video. Why? It’s what happens when you run without a device.

Yesterday morning the first image of beauty to start my exercise was of a hoverboard rider. We passed one another on opposite sides of Old Bradenton Road around 6:05AM. I don’t even know if he saw me. I heard him before I saw him. I thought he was listening to music. Turns out, he was singing along to it, louder than I could hear it. It was hard to tell what he was saying, but I caught enough to suspect it was a praise song. That’s right. A hoverboarder starting his Saturday on a ride worshipping. How can that not be #1?

The Beauty of Singing Over Someone

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Rewatched Rain Man last night. Worth it. So many layers that each time I watch I have different reactions.

In the scene that takes the plot in a new direction, I had one of those reactions. Watch.

The 40-second clip of Ray and Charlie singing is what grabbed me. The beauty of their reconnection through music is unique and priceless.

Singing over someone is beautiful. It’s not the same as singing to someone, like Ray had to Charlie. It’s not the same as singing about or with someone. Singing over them stands alone in the connection created, thus the unique beauty of the moment.

The reason this stuck out to me was I had the opportunity to witness the beauty of someone singing over someone just the day before. I won’t go into the details. Technically, I wasn’t supposed to be there. I count it a joy to have witnessed.

When you sing over someone, no one cares about the elements and expectations of a grand performance like pitch or stage presence. In fact, it’s the opposite. The connection of hearts means the most in that moment. And that’s where the beauty lies.

As churchgoers attend church this weekend, I hope they’ll allow this connection to have room, whether they are being sung over or are doing the singing over.

As sabbath keepers embrace their time this weekend, I wish for them at least one moment of such beauty.

A Stroke on the Canvas

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Last year I made a traveling decision. Whenever I could, visit art centers and galleries wherever I travel. I’m glad I did.

Reason #1: The beauty created and vulnerably shared by artisans deserves encouragement.

Reason #2: The many mediums available for artistic expression deserve appreciation.

Reason #3: Supporting artists with donations or purchases empowers them to continue producing works of beauty inspiring awe and wellness. You might say I’m making a stroke on the community art canvas. It’s something we all can do that doesn’t require legit talent.

Today I visited The Valley Art Center in Clarkston, Washington. Besides enjoying the displays, I was honored to speak with artist and board member Robin Harvey. She was a wealth of information and shed light on unique approaches the center has that were new to me.

I’d like to give a shout out to these other artists whose works I admired:

If you are in the Clarkston/Lewiston area, you won’t regret stopping by The Valley Art Center.

HINT: Before or after lunch is a good time as there are excellent restaurant options within walking distance.

Photo by Andrian Valeanu on Unsplash

I-84 Beauty

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In an effort to model balance, here’s some beauty after having posted about lamenting yesterday.

It’s another running trip, this time to the Northwest. The adventure begins in Oregon with the drive from Portland to Pendleton. Having never been to this part of the country, the beauty is as advertised.

You don’t have to even get off I-84 to see it. It’s a pretty constant view of the Columbia River that divides Oregon and Washington. I wonder if Oregonians ever tire of it.

When I looked at the map to see what was accessible when you get off I-84, this is what you find.

About 20 miles east of Portland there is a stretch of exits that take you to several Falls like Shepperd’s. And apparently Oregonians don’t tire of them. They were out taking them in.

Bridal Veil was basically across the road from Shepperd’s giving a view of the river and Washington’s mountains. Fall isn’t in full artistry, but it’s on the way.

I Gave Up…And It Was Ok

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I’ve found a podcast that’s growing on me. It’s called Everything Happens with Kate Bowler. Check out the link to see what it’s about.

One episode prompted me to think about some things I’ve given up. When we think about giving up, some things we give up are good loses; other things we choose to give up may cause people to question why. The latter is where my mind went. Not that I’m paralyzed by what people think, but I revisited two things I gave up that have often caused people to cock their head with a look of, “I’m not sure that makes sense.”

In 2014, I gave up tennis. Almost to the day ten years ago, I had my second neck surgery giving me three infusions most likely due to a car accident that happened around twenty years ago. What does that have to do with tennis? Both instances when the nerve pain surfaced was either the next day after playing tennis or during a season where I was playing quite a bit of tennis. It can’t be confirmed, but it makes sense to me that the motion of serving and other movements during a tennis match didn’t go well with the disc issues that surfaced. Thus, I gave up tennis. Exercise does include some pain, but being healthy doesn’t have to include self-harm.

In 2001, I gave up being a worship leader as an occupation. It became clear to me after 12 years of music being the basis of my work life that it wasn’t fulfilling. There was something else that was better. I didn’t have the answer, but step one was to give up doing something just because I can. A bigger purpose rose by choosing better over good.

In this vein, my pastor spoke this morning about giving up things in order to live in freedom rather than anxiety. When we are honest with ourselves, we often are quite aware of what’s binding us that we aren’t willing to give up. If you find yourself in this position, let me encourage you with this blessing from Kate Bowler. Each episode I’ve listened to, a blessing is how it ends. In the episode that prompted this post, she ended it with the following words. May they speak life into your soul that it’s okay to give up.

Blessed are you who have reached a new age, even if it doesn’t seem to fit. It may feel too big, too reductive, too limiting. It may be marked by a life you barely recognize. The kids who have all moved out or settled somewhere far away, or they’ve never left. And you’re wondering if you’ll ever get that home office. The work that no longer sets the daily hum. The life partner who is gone. And friends you’ve outlived. The body, which doesn’t allow for the hobbies you loved anymore. The monthly check that doesn’t provide the flexibility you’d hoped for. Wasn’t I young just a second ago? Will I ever recognize the person staring back in the mirror? What’s left to do that really counts? How do I know if I am or ever was enough? God gave us eyes to notice the ways life can still be beautiful and rich and full in the midst of so much that has been lost. Remind us that you are not done with us yet. For the God who spoke us into being calls us even now. Not to an ideal or a role, but to a moment. This one. In a world that equates age with liability, it’s time for a reminder that you are a gift. You give advice. You hold on to family recipes. You remember that thing that happened and honestly, we shouldn’t have forgotten. You think our kids are beautiful, and our bad partners should be soundly dumped. You kept the photo album. You hold our stories. Thank you. Even when the world isn’t paying attention. May you get a glimmer of a reminder that these little things add up to something that is and always will be beautiful.

Photo by Lucas Davies on Unsplash

Cape Cod Beauty

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I’ve been granted the pleasure of appreciating Cape Cod since Sunday. If you know the area, then you’ll recognize the names Mashpee, Falmouth, Hyannis, and Dennis. These have been my viewpoints. I could be here another month and still have unexplored areas, I’m convinced. What a treasure!

In my exploring today, I grabbed a few images. They include a quick stop at Howes Beach in Dennis, a fascinating walk through Cape Cod Museum of Art, and peculiar trees yards from my timeshare unit deck. Here they are with simple observations.

Looking out on Cape Cod Bay from the top of the dune walkway.
If I came here often, Howes Beach would be my beach of choice.
A deliberate choice I made earlier this year within my theme of “rich” is to visit art galleries and museums wherever I travel. This museum exudes beauty, particularly with their sculptures.
Guess what this is made of? Steel! Blows my mind!
Had to check out this tree that’s puzzled me looking through the woods out my slider. No idea what’s the story, but there are some life applications, to be sure. Here’s a different view:
Imagine the story one of the museum art exhibitors could tell with this wood!
Speaking of a story, this view caught my eye this afternoon. Looks like a Marvel Hero pierced this tree with another tree’s limb.

Tomorrow I leave for another New England state. If I never make it back, thank you Cape Cod for all your images of beauty.

Falling Cherry Blossoms

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Last March I posted a blog referencing Makoto Fujimura. He’s become a staple for me to follow-podcast episodes, videos, books, etc. A few months ago I started reading his book Silence and Beauty, where he goes in depth to analyze the book I mentioned in the previous blog post and its place in Japanese art and history. I finished reading it on a plane ride Saturday.

I’m glad I took my time reading this book. The slower read allowed for his words and thoughts to breathe and to sink. What I enjoyed most about this form of Fujimura’s art was how he chose to build toward the ending. His final chapter, Mission Beyond the Waves, overflowed with images and challenges that perfectly summarized his message of silence and beauty.

The image that most caught my attention was his imagery and symbolism of falling cherry blossoms. “In Japan of old, cherry blossoms are considered most beautiful when they are falling.” He penned that following this quote by former archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams:

Our voyages are all about loss and death. At the moment of our death, which could be any moment, how is my mortality to be made fruitful in the life of another? How may my loss and my suffering become a Word to others? The ultimate question that any of us, or any art, can ask is this: “How may I die generously?”

Meditation on Death

If indeed cherry blossoms are most beautiful when they fall, they are most beautiful when they are broken and completely sacrificed. Fujimura’s challenge is for us all to be generous. Generosity in our faith and in our acts “can be a sacramental act to bridge the divide and brokenness created in society.”

What generous act are you prompted to complete? How can your faith assist you? What beauty is coming when you offer your creations?

Photo by Raimond Klavins on Unsplash

Wound’s Intentions

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Just finished listening to the final episode of season 6 of the Being Known Podcast. Never disappoints.

Curt said something about the story of Adam and Eve that probably only a psychiatrist would come up with. It had to do with wounds. Here’s the quote:

The intention of God wounding Adam in Genesis 2 is for creating beauty and goodness. The intention of the serpent’s wound to Eve in Genesis 3 was to destroy her.

Dr. Curt Thompson

We wound others. Others wound us. Sometimes we intend beauty and goodness; sometimes we intend destruction. So many things could be said about these truths. But I want to take a different direction. However, here’s an interesting question now in my head about emotional wounds: What were the intentions?

It’s Easter weekend. Yesterday I kept a ritual of watching Mel Gibson’s The Passion. So much realistic wounding in that film.

True to form, Jesus’ enemies, both human and spirit, were after destruction.

True to form, Jesus was after beauty and goodness.

Be encouraged. It’s normal for wounds to take time to heal. It’s normal to hate the wait, to wish the pain away, or to rush happiness. But without the waiting and the pain, the healing isn’t complete.

Jesus, thank you for turning intended destruction into eternal goodness…for the beauty of your wounds…for completing your intentions.

Photo by David Clode on Unsplash

Barking at the Fence

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Earlier this year, my friend Mark invited me to regularly cohost his podcast, The Next Man Up. We’re roughly 20 episodes in, and he hasn’t fired me.

In the middle of recording an episode about Angry White Males, I remembered a reel I’d seen recently that seemed relevant to our conversation. The video showed the behavior of two dogs on opposite sides of a fence. Check it out:

The episode topic surfaced because of a college course based on it. Our conversation led us down several roads. All the roads circled around this truth: everyone deals with anger. It’s not just men, and it’s not just white folks. All God’s children have moments of anger…which can turn into seasons…which can turn into years. The question we wrestled with is “How do we deal with it so that it doesn’t become a college course title?”

Plenty of answers exist for that question. I’m going to do something that might anger you and answer it with two other questions: 1) What fuels your anger and 2) What are you going to do with it.

I’ve been asking myself that first question for two years. And yes, it’s taking me that long to get to the real answer. Why? At first I was doing what most of us do-looking at what I wanted it to be rather than digging deep in my soul to discover what it actually was. It’s a lot easier to bark at the fence. Removing the fences we erect to keep us safe and comfortable forces us to see more of what God sees-the sacredness of his creation, including those on the other side.

What led me to start asking question one was when I was asked question two. I was barking about folks on the other side of the fence when a trusted voice asked, “What are you going to do with your anger, John?” They had stopped listening for what had happened to me and who did it. They removed that fence and asked me to see what they saw, a man caressing his anger. My erected fence was gone with one question.

Stop and consider what anger does to you. How does it impact your gut? What does it do to your emotional health? How does anger manifest in your body?

Ready to stop barking?

Start tearing down the fence. Ask God to open your eyes to what he sees.

Feel the blessing of finding your answers to the fuel. Embrace the healing when your anger is replaced by beauty.

Photo by Francesco Ungaro on Unsplash