What Europe Taught Me About Beauty

"A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul." ~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe ~

My recent trip to Europe made me feel like my senses were being saturated with beauty. Germany was a vast spread of green forests dotted with castles on hills and picturesque little villages. Bright red and pink flowers trailed over the edges of every balcony, and the houses looked like they belonged in a fairy tale. One early morning fog was draped over the valleys. Spires of countless cathedrals and churches pierced it making me feel like there were adventures waiting around each corner.

Paris contained some of the most awe-inspiring sculptures and paintings I have ever seen. The Louve left me silent and breathless. Filmy veils covered the faces of marble goddesses, and gold frames edged paintings filled with perfectly porportioned humans in every joyful circumstance imaginable. The gardens of Versailles were quietly glorious. Tree lined avenues led to vast flower beds in colors that will never be accurately captured by a camera. As dusk fell I looked out over the lit city towards the Eiffel Tower and the Sacre Couer and wondered if Parisians realized what was all around them.

Rome immersed me in another kind of beauty. History was everywhere and its magnificence nearly made me gasp. The Colosseum rose with column stacked on top of column. Flowers were scattered around cathedrals and pillars adding color to the white marble that dominated the Roman Forum. Even the bright green and red of the Italian flags in front of the Victor Emanuel monument seemed proud and significant, like they were more than just strips of cotton.

Every night I went to bed feeling like I was enlightened, inspired, and unbelieveably fortunate. After three marvelous weeks I took a train to the airport in Frankfurt and watched the vibrant trees and winding rivers drop farther and farther into the distance.

I stepped off the airplane in Salt Lake City wondering how I would ever go back to normal life. Yet, as I resumed life where I had left it I realized that rather than ruining everyday beauty for me, Europe only heightened my appreciation of the things that make us pause and bask for a moment. I watched my friend snuggle close to her first child and thought, "God's love is great." I joined amazing women of all ages, physical builds, and backgrounds in a Middle Eastern dance class and thought, "Marble will never capture the beauty of confident, happy women." I woke up surrounded by friends in the Idaho mountains and thought, "It's good to be home." Finally, I watched my family gather in our less-than-fabulous livingroom to listen to my mom read aloud a chapter from Strawberry Girl and realized that beauty is more a matter of heart than eyes.

I would love to return to Europe someday. There is so much still available for me to explore. The pictures I took there will more than likely grace my classroom walls and desktop wallpaper making me smile for years to come. I hope; however, that I never lose the ability to see beauty in a friend's face or my little sister's Crayola masterpiece. These things show me the love of God, which is the true source of all the beauty contained in this world.

"Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything that is beautiful, for beauty is God's handwriting -- a wayside sacrament. Welcome it in every fair face, in every fair sky, in every flower, and thank God for it as a cup of blessing." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson~