“Beauty blooms in our connections with people as well as with our connections with nature. And the full bloom of togetherness springs from our continual connection with God.”- Timothy D. Willard
“We want something else which can hardly be put into words — to be united with the beauty we see, to pass into it, to receive it into ourselves, to bathe in it, to become part of it.”- C. S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory, address given at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin – June 1941
In Chapter 10 (“Get Started: The Footpath of Togetherness”) of The Beauty Chasers, Timothy Willard exhorts us to fully immerse and participate in beauty. Hence, we must not stop listening for God in the daily grind. Because footpaths, as hard as they might be at times, teach us to rest our eyes on the glory. Instead of the rocky path.
Most significantly, the author states, the beautiful in the world invites our participation. Because beauty possess a cadence and a rhythm. And, in turn, that rhythm brings life to one’s eyes. In addition, writing in Waiting on God, Simone Weil says:
“We are drawn to [beauty] without knowing what to ask of it. . . . We want to get behind beauty. . . . should like to feed upon it.”
Furthermore, Timothy considers the word together as a heritage of faith. Above all, the author sees a grammar to this word. A grammar that provides a depth we need in our lives.
Together means ‘in chorus, of one accord, in unison.’ As a result, that means we live each day as a song – to each other. Not to some vague and unrepresented world. Also, songs require voices, voices that carry in the air. Hence, Timothy observes, when we breathe, we inhale the voices of the world. Like a multitude of the heavenly host, a chorus heralds the arrival of something spectacular. And we = that chorus.
Today’s question: What Bible verses foster the full bloom of togetherness for you? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “The stoke comes from gathering”
