Around this time of year, I start thinking about Autumn, waiting for it to officially arrive so that I can change my desktop wallpaper to a nice Fall scene, break out the pumpkin-scented candles, and start making fall foods like smothered pork chops with sweet potatoes. In these here parts, the climate obstinantly resists seasons, except Summer, about which it is overzealous, and it only begrudgingly moves on to Fall, and even then it procrastinates. Because of that, I have to use other things like decorations, music, scents, and foods to create "fall."
I absolutely love Autumn, at least as it exists in places where the climate is more cooperative and civilized. Sonia and I took a trip to New England several Octobers ago, and it was incredible. The trees were brilliant flame colored yellow and orange and red. The air was crisp and cool and leaves crunched underfoot as we hiked through mushroom and wood scented forests. I wish for that here, though it will never happen.
Sometimes I wonder why I get so caught up in things like Autumn. Am I trying to escape the often boring tedium of everyday life? Am I being hedonistic? Am I being shallow? I've finally realized what's moving and motivating me when I get this way, and at the risk of sounding like I'm trying to justify myself, I'll attempt to explain.
We live in a universe that is not merely functional, not equipped
with only that which is necessary to sustain life, and we ourselves are equipped
with an awareness of those “superfluous” facets of the universe. For instance, from
a purely biological standpoint, it’s good that I can detect that close
proximity to a fire can preserve my life when cold weather would
otherwise drop my body temperature to lethal levels, or that getting
too close to that same fire would, by contrast, raise my temperature too
high and kill me, but why, even when the temperature outside isn’t
dangerous, do I feel drawn to sit next to a fire and stare into its
flames, listen to the crackle and hiss of the wood, watch sparks floating up from it, and enjoy the aroma of wood smoke?
God built aesthetic and beauty into the universe, and built into us the ability
to appreciate those qualities, and I think that we are meant to do so - if I can use
the very tired cliche, to stop and smell the roses. Yes, there’s hard
work to be done, responsibilities to manage, and functionality that
must be performed, but we’re not the Tin Man, all function and no heart.
When is the last time you admired the shape of a particular tree, or
actually watched and not merely noticed a sunset, or really savored a
meal, or listened intently to a piece of music, or the way a loved
one’s voice sounds? Or maybe it takes other sorts of things to light
up your aesthetic detectors. Maybe it’s the elegant way a particular
piece of code is written, or the design of a car, or the way a certain
athlete moves, but whatever it is for you, that sense is there, and God put it there. All of His creation reflects who He is, and points us back to the beauty that He contains, if we see it that way.
“All Earth is crammed with Heaven, and every common bush aflame with God, but only they who see take off their shoes.” -Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Posted on
Wed, September 3, 2008
by Chris Branscome