It should be written on every door

I've been around the sun forty-seven times now, so it really shouldn’t surprise me at all. But there are times when I am jolted out of this trance of the routine, and am suddenly astounded by the sheer aesthetic beauty found in God's universe, particularly on the surface of this very planet. Many times this sensation is triggered by the way sunlight falls on a certain object, or on the surrounding landscape, or is soaked into the passing clouds. Notably, it will often occur in autumn when flamboyant colors abound and are set-off in the crisp daylight, as though a neon sign was suddenly transcended by benefit of an electrical current.

Regardless of how, where, or why I find myself staring aghast at the marvels of my surroundings, the real wonder is how this can possibly go unnoticed over the vast majority of my conscious existence. Familiarity breeds – if not contempt – at least a sort of blindness. We are driven as with blinders strapped about our harried craniums that serve to keep us focused straight ahead, insulated from tantalizing distraction as we gallop in the circles of our tracks. Yet, we would do well to remember that, as an incredibly talented although largely underappreciated Irish rock band observed in song:

“A thing of beauty is not a thing to ignore.”

Our challenge, to the extent possible, is to - at every moment - graciously and thankfully accept the beauty of our world as a gift. To believe in things of beauty. And to not ignore.