Beauty will save the world
What is beauty, really? And what did Dostoevsk mean when he pointed to beauty as a means by which we might be saved?
A Cotswold window onto the natural world
Why are we drawn to beautiful things? And why might it matter?
(Note: This post was taken from a local interview I gave in May 2023 in response to the question: “Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?”)
The impetus behind my business is a call to beauty.
I believe Dostoevsky was correct when he famously said "Beauty will save the world." This isn't cliche, though it can sound cheap and surface. In fact, it points to a profound reality- the three transcendentals of truth, goodness and beauty are inextricably intertwined, and point us to the highest human good—the infinity of the human soul. The three only live in their unity- truth taken abstractly is an empty word, goodness a mere feeling, and beauty an idol. The power lies in their indivisibility. Truth IS goodness, perceived by the human mind. Beauty is the same goodness and truth, embodied in a solid form.
As an enneagram four (and I get it- it's annoying to talk about the enneagram at this point!) beauty often leads the way for me. But it's a portal, not a destination. A portal to meaning. The beauty of gardening & creatively arranging the garden's bounty (& ultimately gifting it) is no small thing: the beauty of a sprouted seed points to hope; the beauty of a feeding bumblebee points to the connectedness of humans and nature; the beauty of an arrangement, the stems dancing in the vase, reaching around a neighbor still searching for the sun, points to the power of life, even when your roots have been cut from under you; the beauty of gifting an arrangement of flowers to a friend in either of the two human poles of need or celebration points to the power of friendship to touch, see and uplift.
So yes, there is a mission driving my creative journey, and it is this: beauty is a “way in” to the things that matter.