Life is hard. And daily we’re bombarded with all sorts of pain and suffering, in our own story and the countless stories of others we’re exposed to as well. This takes a toll on our soul and can leave us in a state of despair. Beauty is our lifeline in moments of such darkness. And we must intentionally and regularly open ourselves up to the power of beauty to reset our hearts toward God’s goodness and light.
To be sure, we don’t have to look far to see many things not as they should be in this world. And yet we must find some way to cope with the constant heartaches we are faced with.
Our temptation is to either ignore or numb. And when we can’t turn a blind eye to the pain, then we try to forget by distracting ourselves with empty pleasures. For instance, this might be overeating, drinking too much, binging television shows, surfing online, or the like. Whatever it looks like, and perhaps unconsciously, we’re self-medicating to numb ourselves from the intense pain of this world. But all the pain comes roaring back once the anesthesia wears off, which only redoubles our efforts to find another escape.
The better approach is to go beauty hunting – to seek out and receive the healing power of beauty even in this fallen and broken world. For example, this might be taking in the beauty of a sunset, delighting in a savory meal, listening to good music, talking with a friend, or literally stopping to smell the roses. Exposing our hearts to beauty allows us to once again saturate in God’s love and remember his goodness. And we make life infinitely more difficult when we forget.
In the end, hardship and pain are a regular part of life in this world. Learn to feed your heart with true beauty rather than attempting to cope through mere numbing.
Photo by Budgeron Bach on Pexels
