A good friend of mine urged me a few weeks ago to post again. Thanks, Melissa! I'm working on an article on an unrelated topic so all I've got today are a few quotes I've collected recently. I'll write a real post soon. Remember to enjoy the beauty around you!
“The chearful birds their airy carols sing/And the whole year is one eternal spring.” Ovid, Metamorphoses
“In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous.” Aristotle
“Earth laughs in flowers.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Friday, April 30, 2010
Quotes about Beauty
I've been busy with my CS Lewis Fellows program but found a few beauty quotes I wanted to share with you. Hope you enjoy!
"A journey into the wilderness is the freest, cheapest, most nonprivileged of pleasures." Edward Abbey
"Nature gives to every time and season some beauties of its own." Charles Dickens
"Butterflies are self-propelled flowers." R. H. Heinlein
"The stars are the streelights of eternity." Anonymous
"I paint objects as I think them, not as I see them." Pablo Picasso
"People don't notice whether it's winter or summer when they're happy." Anton Chekhov
"A journey into the wilderness is the freest, cheapest, most nonprivileged of pleasures." Edward Abbey
"Nature gives to every time and season some beauties of its own." Charles Dickens
"Butterflies are self-propelled flowers." R. H. Heinlein
"The stars are the streelights of eternity." Anonymous
"I paint objects as I think them, not as I see them." Pablo Picasso
"People don't notice whether it's winter or summer when they're happy." Anton Chekhov
Friday, February 12, 2010
Saying Grace
"You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing and grace before I dip the pen in the ink.” G.K. Chesterton
And, if I may add, "grace before I look at the snow that fell yesterday afternoon." We don't get much snow where I live so when the flakes start falling, this corner of the world tends to stop. It's not the snow that's the problem, of course. It's the ice it leaves behind for the next couple of days. Right now, bright sunlight is coaxing the snow to let go of leaves, branches, and pine needles. Large chunks are falling to the ground. Our neighbor's roof is still covered, though, and the whiteness of it is made brighter, almost blinding, by the sunlight. It's hard to look for long, but then, for this Southern girl, it's hard not to.
What beauty do you see outside your window? Or along your way today?
And, if I may add, "grace before I look at the snow that fell yesterday afternoon." We don't get much snow where I live so when the flakes start falling, this corner of the world tends to stop. It's not the snow that's the problem, of course. It's the ice it leaves behind for the next couple of days. Right now, bright sunlight is coaxing the snow to let go of leaves, branches, and pine needles. Large chunks are falling to the ground. Our neighbor's roof is still covered, though, and the whiteness of it is made brighter, almost blinding, by the sunlight. It's hard to look for long, but then, for this Southern girl, it's hard not to.
What beauty do you see outside your window? Or along your way today?
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Beauty in Friends
Hello there. I didn't realize it had been so long since I posted until a friend of mine asked me to start up again. (Thanks, Melissa!) It wasn't an intentional omission. My focus has been on the CS Lewis Fellows program (www.cslewisinstitute.org) and other areas of writing and, well, living.
I have another friend who is very ill right now. She, like Melissa and I, adores beauty. All winter long, Nancy deals with bitter cold and snow and long, dark days. She looks forward to spring and to the first hint of lilacs blooming. When she emails that she saw and smelled her first lilac blossom of the season, I can hear the joy and relief in her words.
Inside her cozy home, she creates beautiful art books with intricate folds, gorgeous papers, a well-chosen word here, a little detail there. When she's done, she sometimes gives these beauties of heart and hand to friends who treasure them as well as the person who made them.
When she felt better, she wrote thoughtful, reflective posts for her blog. Her writing required her readers to think about the deeper things of life.
Last June, I met some friends from my writers' group at a fellow member's home in Alaska. Even though Nancy was ill then, she was able to enjoy the trip to the fullest. Like the rest of us, she drank in the beauty of that wild land and took countless photos of the landscape. I remember one time on a cold, drizzly day, she stood looking at the water below and the mountains behind it while the rest of us huddled inside the car. Later that afternoon, she and I stood together under my umbrella and marvelled at a glacier on the side of the road. Another friend took a photo of us, me looking at the glacier, Nancy smiling at the camera.
Earlier last year, she and I went to a famous art museum in her city. We meandered through many of the galleries, lingering with the Impressionists. We chose our favorite paintings and discussed why we liked them so much. At lunch in the noisy, crowded cafe, we talked about art and beauty and writing. It was a short visit, but one I'm glad I made.
Now that she's so sick, she's not able to keep in touch by email or even talk on the phone much. I miss her. I miss her love for beauty and creativity, her emails, and her smile. I wish we could sit around the table with our other friends and share our stories, our writing, our lives. And of course our chocolate. She's never far from my thoughts and prayers. Even though I can't be, I know that the God of beauty--our Lord and Savior--is with her, comforting her and reminding her how very much she is loved.
God bless you, my dear friend.
I have another friend who is very ill right now. She, like Melissa and I, adores beauty. All winter long, Nancy deals with bitter cold and snow and long, dark days. She looks forward to spring and to the first hint of lilacs blooming. When she emails that she saw and smelled her first lilac blossom of the season, I can hear the joy and relief in her words.
Inside her cozy home, she creates beautiful art books with intricate folds, gorgeous papers, a well-chosen word here, a little detail there. When she's done, she sometimes gives these beauties of heart and hand to friends who treasure them as well as the person who made them.
When she felt better, she wrote thoughtful, reflective posts for her blog. Her writing required her readers to think about the deeper things of life.
Last June, I met some friends from my writers' group at a fellow member's home in Alaska. Even though Nancy was ill then, she was able to enjoy the trip to the fullest. Like the rest of us, she drank in the beauty of that wild land and took countless photos of the landscape. I remember one time on a cold, drizzly day, she stood looking at the water below and the mountains behind it while the rest of us huddled inside the car. Later that afternoon, she and I stood together under my umbrella and marvelled at a glacier on the side of the road. Another friend took a photo of us, me looking at the glacier, Nancy smiling at the camera.
Earlier last year, she and I went to a famous art museum in her city. We meandered through many of the galleries, lingering with the Impressionists. We chose our favorite paintings and discussed why we liked them so much. At lunch in the noisy, crowded cafe, we talked about art and beauty and writing. It was a short visit, but one I'm glad I made.
Now that she's so sick, she's not able to keep in touch by email or even talk on the phone much. I miss her. I miss her love for beauty and creativity, her emails, and her smile. I wish we could sit around the table with our other friends and share our stories, our writing, our lives. And of course our chocolate. She's never far from my thoughts and prayers. Even though I can't be, I know that the God of beauty--our Lord and Savior--is with her, comforting her and reminding her how very much she is loved.
God bless you, my dear friend.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Thanksgiving
The memorial service for a friend of ours was this morning. I'm sad that she passed away but glad that because she believed in Jesus Christ as her Savior, she is with him in heaven right now.
As I think about how quickly life passes, I'm especially grateful this Thankgiving. Here are a few things I'm grateful for in no particular order:
* my husband and my daughter
* my family and friends
* a body that moves and breathes and performs countless tasks every day that I take for granted
* a mind that can think, learn and reason
* provision for basic needs and many, many extras besides
* holiday get-togethers with dear ones
* mashed potatoes and gravy, dressing, and our family's favorite baked beans
* creation (you knew that would be on this list, didn't you?)
* medicine for laryngitis and sinus infections
* laughter, and lots of it
* beauty, of course
* the arts, especially visual and theater
* tears of joy, tears of sorrow, tears of compassion
* language, words, and the Word
* grace
* grace
* grace
Thank you for reading. Enjoy your Thanksgiving.
As I think about how quickly life passes, I'm especially grateful this Thankgiving. Here are a few things I'm grateful for in no particular order:
* my husband and my daughter
* my family and friends
* a body that moves and breathes and performs countless tasks every day that I take for granted
* a mind that can think, learn and reason
* provision for basic needs and many, many extras besides
* holiday get-togethers with dear ones
* mashed potatoes and gravy, dressing, and our family's favorite baked beans
* creation (you knew that would be on this list, didn't you?)
* medicine for laryngitis and sinus infections
* laughter, and lots of it
* beauty, of course
* the arts, especially visual and theater
* tears of joy, tears of sorrow, tears of compassion
* language, words, and the Word
* grace
* grace
* grace
Thank you for reading. Enjoy your Thanksgiving.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
This Week
I'm a little under the weather this week. I'll be back next week. As Thanksgiving approaches, let's be thinking about the beauty around us and what type of beauty we are thankful for and why (ex: music, dance, literature, creation, etc). If you have a minute, leave a comment about it.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
In the Mountains
I was in the midst of beauty last weekend. We stole away to the north Georgia mountains for a few days. Along the way up to the cabin, we drove across a small bridge over a stream that was rushing from recent rainfalls. We went through a narrow passageway with the leaves on both sides; the woods appeared to be on fire all around us. When we got up to our home for the weekend, we stood on the front porch and gazed at the mountains in the distance, with the trees below. It was gorgeous. We were grateful.
Inside the simple, comfortable, and newly-built cabin, the fragrance of wood paneling welcomed us at the door. Every window opened onto a different view of creation. Ahhhh...Whatever stress we felt before leaving home began to melt away until what was left was peace. Just what we needed.
Inside the simple, comfortable, and newly-built cabin, the fragrance of wood paneling welcomed us at the door. Every window opened onto a different view of creation. Ahhhh...Whatever stress we felt before leaving home began to melt away until what was left was peace. Just what we needed.
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