A Pause For Beauty
One ought every day at least to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture,
and if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words.
- Goethe
. . .
A meditation on beauty.
I am in love with this world. I have nestled lovingly in it. I have climbed its mountains, roamed its forests, sailed its waters, crossed its deserts, felt the sting of its frosts, the oppression of its heats, the drench of its rains, the fury of its winds, and always have beauty and joy waited upon my goings and comings.
- John Burroughs
Beauty is easy to avoid.
It doesn’t complain.
It offers itself to us without price,
Other than focus
It offers itself to us in silence
Without cost, other than our attention,
Paying attention is a practice
Like Buddhism or yoga.
I’ve walked through fields of wildflowers
Through forests of huge hemlock trees
Barely noticing, absorbed by some problem or other
Some painting not going well
Some piece of writing not coming together.
I moved to the woods to live with beauty.
Now, I’m surrounded by it all day long
In a multitude of forms: sounds, smells, sights
And sometimes BANG! It hits me —
I’ve come to accept beauty as normal
And take it for granted.
When I open my heart to beauty
Submerge myself in it
Turn my thought processes over to beauty
I get immediate perspective
On all the other things going on in my life
Some of which are truly important,
Most of which are trivial, meaningless, pointless.
In that way, when I live right
Beauty is my ally, my friend, my guide.
. . .
Journaling question:
What does your current relationship to beauty tell you about how you are living, where you are in your life?
The Tao Te Ching Journal: A Path To Inner Quiet
Zen Mountain Journal blends Taoist hermit poetry, contemplative art, and reflections drawn from a lifetime shaped by wilderness, solitude, and decades doing creative work on the outer boundaries of our culture. These journals are companions for seekers — guides in the reconnection with inner quiet, beauty, and the “soundless music” of a life lived with simplicity and meaning.
• Size: 9.25 × 8.5 inches — convenient size for desk or lap.
• Hardcover — the book can be written in without a table or desk.
• Double wire-o bound to lay flat.
• Printed on Mohawk Superfine, a premium uncoated paper for a beautiful writing surface.
• 160 pages.
