Brought to you by the Number 3 and the Letter E

Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder. I wouldn't know because I'm a particularly beauty-stricken beholder. What I do know is this: Beauty is all around us if we want to look for it. It's often hidden, but believe me, we want the mystery of beauty. Without it, our minds, as Augustine might say, would become bored.

So, let's go on an adventure.

Here we are on a college campus on a Friday night. It's noisy and raucous (in fact, nothing like THIS Friday night, since most people are moved out or moving out right now) and we are sitting around on RA duty. (Ok, that's more or less accurate.) We have three assignments due on Monday and we know it's going to be a long night of busting parties and confrontations with drunk undergrads (who are, as you might guess, nothing like the Mere Undergrad.) So, where's the beauty?

Our detection skills tell us to look outside. Even though a thick cloud covers South Bend, a small space in the cloud is able to let the light of a single star in. The wind is blowing through the trees and an owl hoots (or is it a mourning dove?) Looking up at our dorm, we realize that the very idea of Shelter is beautiful. We were made with many strengths. We have a rational mind, and yet we can not naturally protect ourselves. We must make a shelter for ourselves, and our rational mind is put to the task of creating such a shelter. Then we are protected from the wind and the cold. We realize that warmth is beautiful. The moon breaks through the clouds and reflects off the lake. The cold blue light creates a world where mysteries wait to happen. Suddenly, we think of the blue light of the moon and the yellow light of the sun and how each has its place and each is perfect for its place. Then we think of Blue itself and Yellow itself. Our eyes can see color which is waves of light reflected off of objects on which our eyes are fixed. It is like the lake, with waves hitting the shore and our eyes are like children standing with the waves lapping around their feet, refreshed and happy.

So with that, dear friends, we find beauty. We solve the mystery and have forgotten even where we are in the process. When we lose ourselves in beauty, we become bound by the beauty, and when we are bound by beauty, we become truly free.