205. Beauty is the shadow of God on the universe. ~Gabriela Mistral

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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 implanted in the human soul.
~Johann Wolfgang Goethe

Image

In her novel, THE COLOR PURPLE, Alice Walker maintains that God gets angry if a person walks by the color purple in a field and doesn’t notice it.  So it is that at one point in the story the main character, Celie, is told to look at the purple flowers and then to embrace their beauty in spite of all the pain and suffering in her world.  She is urged to see the good in them and acknowledge it because God placed them all on earth.  After she learns the lesson, she has more respect for life and what it has to offer.  It’s obvious that God puts a premium on beauty, not only for His own sake but for ours as well.  Since we are made in His image, our souls cannot help but be implanted with a “sense of the beautiful” as Goethe suggests.  Therein beauty feeds us spiritually and like a highway sign it points to God and His goodness.  If we can find beauty, we can find God.  He uses it as a way to speak to us and grow us in His image.

From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth.   ~Psalm 50:2  ✝

22 thoughts on “205. Beauty is the shadow of God on the universe. ~Gabriela Mistral”

  1. Pingback: 205. Beauty is the shadow of God on the universe. ~Gabriela Mistral | Sacred Touches

  3. Oh I took this photo several weeks ago, Cookie. I just hadn’t found a post to use it with until today. We do still have a little glory in the garden but later this weekend may put an end to all of it this time around. It is going to be nearly 80 here tomorrow, but by Wednesday the temp starts down, down, down. Natalie 🙂

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  4. Incidentally, purple is my dad’s favorite colour. He says (and rightly so) that it’s the colour of royalty! Awesome post, as usual. I particularly appreciate the line: “Beauty feeds us spiritually…”.
    God bless you for sharing.

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  11. Purple–my favorite color. Fall asters–inspired me to write a poem. Yes, God’s creation surrounds us with beauty and inspiration every day! Thanks for sharing! Love, Bette

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