Seeing a number of incredible photography of incredibly beautiful places as well as artwork, I wonder: When does something qualify as beautiful to us?
What is the something that, no matter where, when or by whom it is viewed, will inspire this sense of awe, aesthetic and beauty? Or is there really such a thing? What about nature - and sacred geometry?
What about - Beauty is in the eye of the beholder? Or, in other words: is it dependent on state of consciousness, on perception in inner experience?
I recall something from many, many years ago. I was looking out the window across houses and houses onto the smoking factories of a big city. It was sunset time - and suddenly everything turned into beauty and perfection - pure Beauty and Perfection. I was standing there in awe for quite some time. I never would have guessed it could happen - given I was not very fond of industrial smoking factories. But wow - sheer perfect beauty. The Beatles were playing, on tape: I hope you understand...(to the tune of: I wanna hold your hand)
What aesthetic was that?
So then back to: what is Beauty, what is beautiful - and how can you tell?
Despite thoughts and preliminary answers about this, the questions nonetheless got rekindled by seeing such beautiful images on Facebook, posted by different folks.
Beauty - The property, quality or state of being "that which pleases merely by being perceived" (Aquinas)
Our hearts are drunk with a beauty our eyes could never see. ~George W. Russell
ReplyDeleteThe question of beauty is fundamental to a branch of the study of philosophy known as aesthetics. There are volumes written on the topic.
I really don't know what beauty is, but, I am certain of beauty when I see it. It is breathtaking and show stopping. I am stopped in my tracks when a moment of beauty happens. It may be one word spoken by someone - a word that is a poem in itself, from that mouth of a poet arisen only in that moment. A song birds voice at a particular moment on a particular day.
I really don't know what Beauty is, but, I seem to know it when I see it.
A moment of beauty - for me.
ReplyDeleteI had been in the desert for about one week with Jack. We had hiked and traveled a great deal. We slept on the desert floor in our bags. As night fell the desert became pitch black interrupted by a blanket of stars. I slept through the evening and awoke before sunrise.
Sunrise in the desert is unique. The presence of the sun is revealed before there is any light. The blacken sky starts to turn a deep violet and the sounds of the night desert begin to fade and a hush starts over the horizon as the night creatures retire, and before the day hunters have arisen.
As the day unfolded the colors start out in muted fashion, slowly slowly revealing themselves. As the light became apparent the panorama of the desert began a quiet explosion of color and quiet magnificence, as the full majesty of a morning desert speaks forth.
That was a moment of beauty.
Ya, very beautiful - I find, in general, anything in nature is beautiful - as in even the dried out grasses here as long as you let them (nature) be anyway.
ReplyDeleteIt much harder to see when it's been trampled on and mowed - then the consciousness of the beholder plays a much larger role.
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