Saved By Beauty

by jphiker

“The world will be saved by beauty” Fyodor Dostoevsky

I read this quote in a book about the life of Dorothy Day . I understand it was her favorite quote. Although, I have not concluded reading this book, I can say from what I have read, she was truly a very special person. What stands out so far for me about her, is her burning heart of action for those that were marginalized in society. She was a woman of words (she was a journalist and author) but she also was a woman of action. She was a social justice advocate and political radical for change to the systems that enslave others. She paid for it, though, with beatings and jail time, but she persevered. I would say she lead a “beautiful life”. Her beauty was deep.

I was thinking about beauty and how we use the word in our language.  The first image I get when I hear the word, is the beauty we find in nature (like this photo at the top of this blog, from Costa Rica). As I mentioned, in the past, walking the Camino de Santiago, we enjoyed a lot of beautiful sunrises, as we walked across Spain (we had to get up before dawn many times to assure we could make our day’s destination). A beautiful sunrise or sunset can do wonders for us, it lifts our spirits and we feel instantly better in almost every case. It is something innate in all of us, I believe.

So, if I think of beauty in this way, something that lifts our spirits and makes us and others feel better, then maybe beauty can indeed save the world. I know there was an amazing beauty in Dorothy Day’s life. She lifted the spirits of those that were downtrodden in society and she was a strong advocate for changes to the “systems” that pushed them and kept them down. She was beauty.

We see beauty all around us in those caring for others who just need a little help. We can be beauty in how we treat each other. We can lift the spirits of others by what we say and do. We can be beauty, too!

Blessings and all good,

John

Photograph of the Week

The World will be Saved by Beauty

Ok, so I saved my best for the last, this photograph is from a sunset in Tamarindo, Costa Rica. A true beauty!