THE GIFT OF BEAUTY 
. Meditate for a moment on the mere existence of a thing we call beauty.  Beauty is in everything we see—in the world, in our bodies, in our feelings and passions. There is no logical or scientific reason why there should even be such a thing as beauty. Rather, beauty is a gift, one which is superfluous to survival. If there was no beauty would we miss it? What if the concept of beauty had never touched our consciousness? Do we only find our world beautiful because we are accustomed to it? If we had only known the grotesque, would we consider it beautiful? Is beauty only, as they say, in the eye of the beholder? If so, then the wonder is no less stunning, for consider the amazement that is the ability of the beholder to find beauty–that the eye for beauty is written into the nature of humanity. This is arguably more wondrous than the beauty itself!  How could this beauty come about but by the generosity of a giver? To say that we and the world came about by pure chance is a great exercise in selfishness. By such a hypothesis, we avoid the responsibility of thankfulness for our gifts. But beauty contradicts the theory of chance. If all existence was an accident, would it not have evolved toward functionality alone? We can see in science that each species grows and mutates toward functionality, power, even comfort. But what mutations can explain beauty? How can the natural causes of water, stone and gravity over millions of years produce the glory of a waterfall? How can the grim quest for survival of a single mountain fir high in the alps explain a tree so sublime? How can the simple instinct of propagation manifest in the passion and unity of human reproduction? Each of these phenomena can be explained very accurately and scientifically, but science cannot explain the consistency, and most importantly, the why of beauty in our world. Does each beautiful phenomena not point to an incredible creativity, an incredible love? The majesty of nature, art in all its forms, the capacity to love, the complex workings and passions of our bodies, the very order of the universe, all point to life itself being a remarkable gift which only selfishness could claim was not given. Could this beauty all come about by chance? Perhaps. But would it? The overwhelming beauty of the world points to the necessity of there being a Creator, and this demands us to consider what it means to exist, as a “created being.” Most obvious is the fact that I am at the mercy of the Supremity.  I believe we exist because of love. The beauty of the earth’s gifts show me that God created because s/he desired to love, and that love made him/her desire to give its creations a bounty of good.

alan