I believe it was Stendhal who said “Beauty is the promise of happiness.”
Today I was reading a book called “Answers in the Heart” a daily meditation for men and women who are recovery from sexual addictions. In one of its chapters it read:
Often we are too busy or self-absorbed to notice what is beautiful in people & in the world around us. We hurry along focused on ourselves, inattentive to what really makes life worth living.
I couldn’t agree more.
The world is filled with beauty – twilight over a lake, a child’s laughter, a scene in a movie, the sun on a stone wall, a weeping willow, a lively song, our beloved’s face. If we are attentive & learn to slow down, we will see all around us signs of beauty that speak directly to us.
We do not have to go to exotic places to find beauty. It is here, in our lives, all around us. Finding it, we carry it with us & our lives are enriched. The language of beauty is the language of joy.
Application and Implementation
As I become more attentive to the beauty that is all around me, I find my life becoming happier & more deeply spiritual.
This week I will stop praying so hard for my character defects & difficulties to be removed. Instead I will rest in the fact that God has my life in His hands, if I will allow Him to carry me I can take the time to see His beauty all around me.
How can this not bring me a spirit of happiness?
This is Monty’man wishing
“Serenity For You!
Monty you are so right, the pain of addiction runs so deep, the focus we have on it absorbs all our time and all our thought. We tell ourselves we are in recovery and must stay focused, we are in recovery and must stay with our recovery friends. Truth is, for lots of us that relief we feel, when we achieve a measure of sobriety, then causes us to shut out these other freedoms. Freedom to enter God’s Sabbath Rest where we enjoy His presence, shown us in sunsets, child’s joy, evening light on a farm field, etc.
God wants to do for others what you describe, that is His job to do for them, not ours. I work hard at spreading the news of recovery, but I need relief. I am glad I go on long-distance motorcycle trips where I can forget all else and just take in the physical beauty around me, my senses have no choice but to be occupied with something other then me.
This pursuit of recovery is a wonderful life, there are more and more Monty’mans out there provoking thought. I am happy in my recovery because of guys like you making it all the richer. Dick Burns, Chris Schroeder, Mitch, and so many more. Isaiah 26:12 NIV. Chaplain Jim