Think on These Things

There’s a verse from my childhood that hangs on the door to my mind so that I read it each time I pass through (which is often). It says to consider only that which is worthy; saturate yourself with what elevates you. In the many caustic renderings of religion, beauty is tarnished by reckless people and we are so dismayed with the whole damn mess that we discard truths caught in the tangle. But some words cling to the corners and don’t shake out. The mandate to set our minds toward the truest, most honest, just, pure, lovely, and good - assumes an elemental truth of humanity: we require goodness to flourish. The fumes of fear and hysteria yield no hope. The dysphoria in our world may well be tacked down to our obsession with lesser things. But the lovely and good are reflective by nature, perhaps even viral. And it is only by their nourishment that we will thrive. So the next time you see a dogwood in bloom, or the next time a song reaches deep into your heart, or a story raptures your imagination, or the sunset kisses your cheek, “think on these things”.