The Most Beautiful Thing

I am not a well traveled man, but I have seen some pretty cool things in my life.  I have canoed down the Snake River enveloped in mist while a Bald Eagle watched me from it’s perch.  I have watched the sunrise from the rocky mountains, and seen it set over the pacific ocean.  I sat in the bead of a truck, in the middle of the Australian outback and watched the stars come out.  The milky-way and the southern cross brilliant splashes of white across an inky canvas.

All of these things were stunning, they all evoked a positive emotional response from me.  Which in this author’s mind is the definition of beauty.  An object or scene might be nice to look at, or amusing, heck it might even be downright gorgeous, but if it doesn’t make you feel and think, then it isn’t beautiful.

So the most beautiful thing under that definition happened this weekend.  A busy saturday morning.  Lots of company, lots of bustling, the rush to get ready for an event.  I walked down my stairs and turned the corner looking into my darkly lit, messy, family room.  In the corner my sister-in-law was on her knees, arms folded, head bowed deeply.  A familiar position for many.  My brother-in-law was seated behind her on the couch, his head deeply bowed as well, with his hands placed on his wife’s head.  Both of their postures somehow conveyed two messages simultaneously.

The first was complete and utter despair and sorrow.  They had delivered a stillborn daughter earlier that week and were minutes away from burying her.  The sorrow radiated from the arched backs and bowed heads.

The second was power.  Many have found that one of the most submissive and humble positions in this life, on your knees, is the most powerful.  Her trust was so powerful and evident in her kneeling and pleading.  His hands laid gently on her head, his bowed, powerfully whispering.  Together they were completing an act of pure faith.

Tears leapt to my eyes, which is sort of a novel experience for me.  I about faced and quickly jogged up the stairs, my chest full of the image which I had only glimpsed.  Few times in my life has an experience effected and affected me so quickly and with such force.