Beauty in Complexity

I’ve always been able to see the beauty of creation in the natural world. To me, I am able to see the artistry of God in the things he has surrounded humans with, soaring pines, brilliant sunsets, and loons drifting over misty northern lakes. In fact, many times I see humanity as intrusion into that beauty. Litter reminds me of the sinfulness and destructive tendencies of mankind. Even my own mind is a source of ‘sin pollution’ and anxiety. In that sense, when I hike I am echoing the actions of the Desert Fathers who sought out solitude to escape the excesses and sins of humanity. In this I have often struggled to see the beauty in humanity---struggled to see past the seemingly infinite evil and depravity that we are capable of. To watch the news, or even to experience a painful relationship gives one the impression that we are creatures of infinite entropy. Oh, I know there is great mystery in the fact that we, apart from the rest of creation, were created in God’s image, that we in some unquantifiable way echo some aspects of our Creator. Artistry is often cited as one of these. Yet even knowing this, I struggle to see the beauty in skyscrapers, or medical procedures, or even great art. The purity of mankind is always sullied by moral detritus. It is as if I witness mankind’s fall over and over. Instead, our interminable fallibility gnaws at me until I turn away from the headlines or indeed my own face in the mirror.

Tonight, however I felt a tremor of that beauty. I saw for an instant that human beings are impossibly complex with thoughts, dreams, motivations, and emotions that cannot be conveyed through speech, word, or any other creative endeavor fully (think of the thoughts that pass through your own mind and all of the memories and intentions that spawn them). The beauty of humanity or a beauty of humanity is in understanding the artistry in that complexity. That is a beauty of mankind, to see the intangible complexity glimpsed through conversation, through art, and through action. It is at least equal to the most complex symphony or beautiful wilderness vista. I cannot explain every connotation of being created in the image of our Creator, but I can say that there is artistry in our bones, brushstrokes of infinite precision mapping our minds. We can never know it fully in even the most intimate of relationships but we need to be driven on by that pursuit of beauty to grasp at the exposed strands and appreciate the wonder in them. Beyond all of our transgressions and misdeeds we are woven with strands of gorgeous Divine intent. Lord help me look past the grime, in others, and in myself. Help me never give up the pursuit of beauty in others. Help me do what it takes to see it. Every intricate strand is another praise of your infinite character.