How Not to Trail Beauty

Enchanted > Grasp! > Lost? > Help.

I experience this cycle more often than I would like. With how illusive this quest seems to be, I wonder if beauty is more alive than I had previously thought. Perhaps it is something I follow as opposed to a place I arrive at. Here are some field notes from tracking this ancient beast.

The enchantment beauty is undeniable. It is the most real thing I have ever experienced. When I struggle with faith in the transcendent, enchanted experiences break the silence. When contact is breached, the heart explodes into praise. It is a sublime exchange of intimacy.

Inevitably, the experience does not last forever. Even if there is an extended amount of praise, or a resilient resolve to find beauty in everything, I return to the humdrum of life.

But now I am intentionally trailing beauty, asking if this quest is more than a supplemental hobby — I find myself discovering her marks on the trail, occasionally catching wind of her scent. Then I find myself calling out, coaxing even. Curating an environment. Documenting all that I know, researching, predicting. All to no avail.

Why? Because surprise is an undeniable trait of the beast we are questing. She cannot be curated, she cannot be innovated. That’s why novelty is altogether different than true beauty. These woods are full of counterfeit versions of beauty and it's easy to get confused.

In many different ways, I have heard that discipline is critical to any creative act. While I tend toward gritting my teeth and rigorous understanding, the discipline of kneeling has gotten me the furthest on this journey.

On the quest for beauty, an awe-inspired, patient, selfless posture beckons her come near.