Beauty of the Day...

...listening to the Allegri Miserere while a thunderstorm rages outside. When the Miserere ended the sun came out briefly. After running around outside in the pouring rain I'm now sitting here with wet hair listening to this:

Insomniac Ramblings

It is at about this time of night (2:46 am) that, particularly during the summer, my brain starts doing this:

"Hullo! What's this? Is that a deep thought about something of importance? I say, let's think of deep, important things then, shall we? Yes, what a lovely idea! Simply marvelous how eternity drags on, isn't it? And the Trinity! What mystery! Ah, but what shall it be tonight? The state of the world and how so many problems are caused by misunderstandings? The curiousness of time and distance? Hm, death is interesting. Or what about..."

It is at this point when the thought "no, no, I'm supposed to wake up in the morning without feeling like I'm half dead" interjects before the previous jabber continues and starts delving into a topic. This repeats itself a few times until somehow I end up falling into happy little dreamland. (By the way, I've just been watching the 1981 television series of Brideshead Revisited so everything sounds British to me or as if Jeremy Irons is speaking...which is very odd in this case, I suppose, if he's narrating my thoughts.)

This likes to happen chronically and cause an annoyingly intellectual insomnia. I file the thoughts accordingly: 1) they are either something worth a quick blog post about now that I have this, 2) worth writing down on paper with a pen (my preferred means of sorting through things), or 3) something I just mull over in my head while tossing and turning in bed. At some mysterious point just before sleep takes over it's funny how our minds start to numb a bit and then suddenly sink into unconsciousness. The profound thoughts melt into the distance and we're free of them for a while. They become something along the lines of what P.G. Wodehouse says as we strain to remember our mental track: "One of the Georges - I forget which - once said that a certain number of hours' sleep each night - I cannot recall at the moment how many - made a man something which for the time being has slipped my memory." And if we haven't reached that point where we give up on the details it will still be a long time until sleep.

In a sort of awesome but potentially cruel way I'm going to leave you with one of my favourite things to ponder at odd hours...part of Book I of St. Augustine's Confessions.

"Do heaven and earth contain you because you have filled them? Or do You fill them and overflow them because they do not contain You? Where do You put the overflow of yourself after heaven and earth are filled? Or have You, who contain all things, no need to be contained by anything because what You will You fill by containing it? We cannot think You are given coherence by vessels full of You, because even if they were to be broken, You would not be spilt. When You are poured out upon us, You are not wasted on the ground. You raise us upright. You are not scattered but reassemble us. In filling all things, you fill them all with the whole of yourself."

"Is it that because all things cannot contain the whole of You, they contain part of You, and that all things contain the same part of You simultaneously? Or does each part contain a different part of You, the larger containing the greater parts, the lesser parts the smaller? Does that imply that there is some part of You which is greater, another part smaller? Or is the whole of You everywhere, yet without anything that contains You entire?"

Earth looks like a mighty nice footstool.

Helplessness Blues

If you take something seriously you're more likely to get hurt much worse when something goes wrong. If you take morality seriously you're more likely to get frustrated at the state of the world. To really live the Christian life, to see and feel beyond yourself constantly, to really, truly love even one person, especially in a society that tells you to focus on yourself it seems like it takes supernatural strength.

And that's precisely what it does.

That's why "the beauty of grace is that it makes life unfair". Grace is our supernatural strength and lucky for us God is willing to give it. But one of the most curious things is that not only do we say we trust in God but He trusts in us. "Do not hide your face from me; in you I put my trust." is easily something that either one of us could be saying to the other. If we're really worth putting that much effort and confidence into then I should say we aren't actually the slightest bit aware of our potential. 

(Btw, yes, the title is a Fleet Foxes reference.)

Simple is Good

"Q. Why did God make you?
A. God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him forever in the next."

Sometimes the simplest answer is best. It may sound stupid but dwell on each of those words and it's profound. The Baltimore Catechism* is inseparable from my childhood and boy, do we all need to remember how we were children.

*Funny story...when I was little I thought we used the Baltimore Catechism because we went to church in Baltimore. Later in life I realized it's used in many other states and cities.

An Introduction to Avett

If you are at all a close friend of mine you will surely know that I am a big fan of The Avett Brothers. The two brothers (Scott and Seth) who hail from North Carolina plus Bob Crawford and Joe Kwon comprise this fantastic folksy band. It is rare that a band can pull off having great music and great lyrics consistently but when I say they do it consistently I mean all.the.time. And it's not just that they have good songs with lyrics that aren't completely lame, it's that their music is relatable, effective, emotional, and just plain awesome. They are almost uncomfortably honest about their lives and equally hopeful. They express the human condition at least as well as actual folk songs and great folk singers. It's no wonder they've been able to share a stage with Bob Dylan.

When I went to see them for the first time as I was waiting for them to take the stage I overheard a fan saying it was their fourth or fifth time coming to one of their shows. I was a little surprised by that because it seems that not many people see a band that much. After the first show I understood why they would buy tickets that many times. After my second time seeing them live I really understood. Some bands are just bad when they play live. This is not the case with the Avetts. They are much better live than on the records. They are also willing to change things up on stage and make each show truly unique.

Scott and Seth also have a nice balance between the silly and sentimentally serious. They have pretty much any type of emotion packed into their 7 albums and 4 EPs. There are so many beautiful quotes I could pull out from their songs I would hardly know where to begin. Scott once said in an interview that they treat the lyrics and the actual music as equally important and I believe it.

So, having said all that if you've never heard any of their lovely songs before try this one out for starters:

Then I recommend "I and Love and You"...and everything else.

The Weight of All Good Things

The amount I've posted on this blog reflects something of the amount of enthusiasm I have towards this summer at the moment. The end of the semester was totes cray (as they say) and now is the perfect time to pick up the miserable amount of my slack. Thus far the heaping quantity of the summer's lame-itude has been frustrating BUT, nevertheless, this blog is not only supposed to serve as an outlet for whatever bloggers blog about but also specifically for talking about the gobs and gobs of things to be happy about in each and every boring day. And that means no matter how pathetically dull it gets there's still many a reason to get on with things with a good ounce or two of gratitude.

So. What am I happy about after too many trips to the dentist this week, separation from many of my friends and my amazing little nephew and my terribly crazy and fun sister and her husband, a general feeling of complete and utter rottenness, and the lull of waiting for a job application to be processed?

Well, here's a list:

• Books. Now is the perfect time to spend with my other good friends (the ones I've never actually met because regrettably they died before I was born) - Tolkien, Chesterton, Lewis, St. Augustine, Newman, O'Connor, Wodehouse, Dostoyevsky, etc. (And I'm just guessing I'd call the last three "friends" because I'll admit right now that I haven't read very much of them yet. This is precisely why I need to tackle my massive reading list.)
• Tea. 'Nuff said.
• Sleep. At the very least I'm not pulling all-nighters and that's something to be thankful for.
• Time with the rest of my family. When it's not overly chaotic it is very pleasant to be able to sit down and just talk with my mom or dad and have silly exchanges with my brother.
• The potential to meet up with my lovely high school friends. I say potential because none of us have actually done it yet *cough*. Darn those conflicting schedules.
• The excitement of Rome this fall. It's not always something I'm looking forward to because I'll absolutely hate to leave behind the Dome and my friends but, c'mon, even if it turns out to be an awful year it won't be half that bad.
• The ability to do so many things with all this time I magically now have...things like writing, drawing, physical exercise (*snort*), and most especially playing music.    

So, while I gather up my energy to do the things I would like to I wonder if maybe this chronic summer slump every year isn't due in part to the crushing weight suddenly thrown on me of having the time and freedom to accomplish all sorts of things. I know for quite a while I've been in need of a rest and silence and now that that chance has come I'm put off by it. It makes everything seem like some sort of burden because I'm not rushing around and I'm used to that. Now summer is just a wasteland of time. The slump under the weight of this time is only made overwhelming by the myriad possibilities of what I can do with it. But the heaviness of things makes us appreciate their magnitude and there's a lot of good that can be done in the presence of gratitude. After all, God isn't very subtle about His goodness to begin with.   

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.

Into the Cybersphere

Hullo there! This blog is dedicated to the recognition of Beauty in the extraordinary and the ordinary; it is an attempt to notice the astonishing in the accustomed, the exceptional in the expected. We’re easily consumed by the world’s negativity and use social media as an outlet for venting and complaining so I ask you why not harp a little more on the positive?

I believe my partner in insanity (he’s two smidgens insane – a smidgen more than myself) and mon copain will be joining me on this endeavour when he so desires. I hope our concept of "Beauty Lists" catches on a bit in the cyberworld, particularly when it seems on the surface that there isn't much cause for gratitude. So here's to all things pertaining to venustas! If on earth we are bound to see shadows of God in creation and "only reflections in a mirror, mere riddles" (1 Cor. 13:12) the least we can do is admire His radiance from afar.