Unexpected Beauty

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Unexpected Beauty

As I left my room to enjoy a day with a friend on Madeline Island, I found unexpected beauty at the end of the hallway. One of my Sisters put a small bouquet of daisies on the windowsill. Its simple beauty stopped me dead in my tracks. I was anticipating a beautiful Saturday filled with the joy of friendship and glories of nature. I just never expected it at the end of the hallway.

I heard once that Joshua Bell, a world-renowned classical musician, did a little social experiment on a train platform in Washington, D.C. Dressed in a long-sleeve t-shirt, a pair of jeans, and a baseball cap, he played one of Bach’s most difficult and beautiful pieces on his violin. Three days earlier he played to a packed house at Boston’s Symphony Hall but on this day almost no one stopped to listen. Why did this happen? I think the people who bought tickets to the symphony expected to hear something beautiful but at the train station no one expected it.

How often do we overlook something of beauty or miss a blessing from God because we are looking for something different or we expect to find it in a different place? There is beauty all around us. God is full of surprises. So, pay attention. Be ready. You never know when you will find unexpected beauty!

 

 

 

Posted in Reflections, Sister Lisa MaurerTagged , , ,

Comments

  1. It’s those unexpected surprises that keep life fun. You can never wake up thinking you know what’s coming. It’s especially fun when you’re the one who provides the pleasant surprise for someone else.

  2. You know I love your blogs! It’s always good to be REMINDED to take the time to see what wonderful things God has placed around us — taking time to “smell those flowers!” ???? ????????

  3. A wealth of mediation thoughts…..I do so feel the power of the Joshua Bell story. I had forgotten how it touched me the first time I read it. Thank you for your gift to us today.

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“Our humanity comes to its fullest bloom in giving. We become beautiful people when we give whatever we can give: a smile, a handshake, a kiss, an embrace, a word of love, a present, a part of our life...all of our life.”
–Henri Nouwen