Important truths are repeated in order to remember and allow them to sink deep into our souls. Acts of goodness are also most effective when regularly repeated. And the same holds with beauty. We need regular and frequent doses to saturate our souls and fill us with life.
We’ve all likely spent some time memorizing a poem or a passage of Scripture important to us. We wanted to hold on to its truth and so we committed it to memory. And repeating it often was not burdensome, but good. It kept us from forgetting and reminded us to live in this truth daily.
Offering a kind word, a gift, or an act of service in a time of need is a good gesture. And we realize this is rarely a once and done move. Our love tanks must be repeatedly filled with acts of goodness. And when motivated by love, we offer freely and fully with much joy, even when it’s costly.
However, we seem more reluctant to accept our need for regular doses of beauty.
But repeating beauty functions in a similar way. Regularly exposing ourselves to beauty allows us to marinate in its truth and goodness.
This might be a particular image or expression that we keep coming back to – not because we’re unfamiliar with it, but to drink deeply of what it offers.
For example, we might listen to a particular song on repeat or return time and again to gaze upon a particular work of art.
On the other hand, we might also feast on a creative variety of beauty – many different songs and works of art, for instance. It’s not that we’re dissatisfied with one, but the repetition of variety also feeds our souls.
God paints a new sunrise each morning. And nature provides countless ways to witness beauty in all different colors, shapes, and sizes.
Saturate in beauty by coming to it time and again. This repetition feeds the soul and fills it with much life.
Photo by Dawid Zawiła on Unsplash
