Comments on: iMonk 101: “Lo, How A Rose:” Experiencing the Power of Beauty

By: Myrddin

Myrddin — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 04:24:17 +0000

Did my MA in theological aesthetics. Thanks for this post.

As for what gave me an ‘inaugurating’ experience of the beautiful (and I’m sad this post has so few responses) here are a few

Tolkien, being taken to my first Orchestra at the age of 22 (Rachmaninov), Hopkins’ “Pied Beauty,” seeing THE LADY OF SHALOT in the Tate gallery …

Those were early experiences anway.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 20:21:52 +0000

I grew up in a SB home in the deep south, but with parents who supported me in my love for music. I received very fine training in classical piano, and as I grew up I slowly began to find the sense of transcendence possible when one is so lost in beauty. I’m now almost finished with my master’s degree in piano performance, and I can say I have had many such transcendent experiences of the beauty possible when God’s creatures exercise their enormous skill and talent. Brahms, Schumann, Beethoven, Bach–these have been my windows into the wonder of beauty.

One particular instance comes to mind, though, that wasn’t at the piano: as a college freshman I had the (unbelievably rare!) opportunity, as a member of one of my conservatory’s top choirs, to sing with the Cincinnati Symphony and May Festival Chorus in a performance of Mahler’s 8th symphony. An experience I will never forget. Such power, intimacy, and love; being lost in the music, surrounded by the music, and a part of the music all at the same time–nothing like it!

By: Beth

Beth — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 22:02:50 +0000

We always had music in the house–a radio in every room. The first time I felt the awe was in the presence of my distinctly untalented gradeschool orchestra. To feel the music washing over me was overwhelming.

Lately, I’ve been amazed at the beauty in people I’ve met. Sometimes its quantifiable, and sometimes you just feel their heart.

By: dumb ox

dumb ox — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 20:42:11 +0000

I have got to spend more time in the archives.

By: Kobra

Kobra — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 20:11:59 +0000

Wow, I am really struggling over how to answer this question. I think I’m struggling, not because the question is a bad one (it isn’t), but because my childhood experience was pretty dark and deeply scarring. The means of escape for me as a kid were the art and music classes my public school offered. I remember fondly Miss Cicco and Mrs. Barnes who taught these classes. I can’t tell you just how much teasing I had to tolerate as I was the kid in music class who volunteered to sing often, and the kid who really tried to excel in art class. I suppose, while I still can’t get my head around the concept of beauty, this is where I began to catch a glimpse of something juxtaposed to the majority of my experiences as a child.

Thanks, K

By: Rose Mawhorter

Rose Mawhorter — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 19:09:56 +0000

When I was in sixth grade I homeschooled for a year. I had some other homeschooling friends that had hippy parents. They used to take me on nature walks with their children during the days. My family never took time to enjoy nature. These walks inspired me to look beyond myself. I think they were the start of my consideration of the infinite. I also came to appreciate nature very deeply. To this day I long to leave the city and surround myself by unadulterated creation.

As a teenager I also used to enjoy wandering through old cemeteries. They had a beauty in them. All the old tombstones expressed peoples deep emotions and grief. They also expressed something beyond me. It drew me toward God. I was forced to contemplate eternity. So much of our society is removed from death and nature. I’m thankful for that God taught me to see both of these aspects of life.

By: Kurt McInnis

Kurt McInnis — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 18:57:00 +0000

Great Christmas song. I put it in the same category (beauty-wise) as “In the Bleak Midwinter” and “The Holly and the Ivy.”

My answer to the question:

1. Classical music, esp. Handel

2. R.C. Sproul’s “Recovering the Beauty of the Arts” video series.

By: Boethius

Boethius — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 14:49:28 +0000

I learned beauty from playing the guitar. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to all the guitar players in my life that let me hang around with them and play while they played. I made mistakes. They let me learn. For that, I will always be grateful. I am also grateful to my guitar teacher who taught me how to read music.

By: Pastor M

Pastor M — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 13:53:48 +0000

Saturday at 6:15 a.m., my wife and I watched our 23 year-old daughter drive down the driveway on the way to pick up a friend to drive to Portland, Oregon to live for a while. She has a place to live but no job. We went back into the house to cry and express our feelings to each other. Sunday morning, our choir sang “Angus Dei” from a Michael W. Smith cantata. I sat with my head bowed during both services that they sang. I was singing with them with an intensity that almost astounded me. I knew so much my need for the Lamb of God in my life, for my wife, for both our daughters, for our congregation, for all the world. And, we also sang “Lo, How A Rose” during the service!

By: don bryant

don bryant — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 09:45:08 +0000

I have always been a reader. A sentence well-crafted is the most delicious taste in the universe. It was not until I read Robert Frost as a college freshman that I experienced delight of another kind.