THINK BEAUTY

My neighbor called the other day and the first thing she said was, "I heard you bought a new lawn mower, did you get a good deal?"

That made me think of the priorities we use when purchasing goods and services in the marketplace today...and how, in all but a few instances, money--cost--seems to be firmly esconsed in the #1 position.

Television, newspaper and radio ads implore us to think of money first:
"Nobody but nobody undersells us"
"Find a lower price and we'll beat it by 10%"
"Rent this beautiful car for only dollars a day"
"Order in the next few days and we'll double our offer"

Store fronts are emblazoned with screaming signs:
"Going out of business sale"
"Back to school sale"
"Buy one, get one free"
"Seniors get 20% off on Tuesdays"

Store aisles are covered with bright attention-getting stickers: "This item on sale. Regular price $, sale price $, you save $." And, oh yes, "Sign up here for the store's card, carry it with you on your key chain, show it every time you come to the store, and you'll pay the low low low prices only available to our loyal customers."

Coupons offering discounts are everywhere. They come at you in the mail, they fill special newspaper inserts, they are handed out in the streets. Cutting coupons has become an occupation, and an obsession.

Now, of course, except for the few of us who have more money than we are ever reasonably likely to spend, money is a factor in any purchase. But is it really the most important and interesting thing about my new lawn mower? What about quality and safety and efficiency and durability and noise level and serviceability and warranty...and beauty.

Yes, beauty. This is an unabashed pitch to promote beauty to replace money in the #1 priority position. Beauty in all its manifestations...beauty to the visual sense (art), beauty to the auditory sense (music), beauty to the sense of touch (texture), beauty to the sense of gustation (gourmet cuisine), beauty to the olfactory sense (exotic aroma), and beauty to the mind (curiosity, conjecture, comprehension).

Beauty feeds the soul and bouys our spirit. It reveals how perfectly pure life can be. It is harmony and symmetry. It evokes the emotion of love. It brings with it an inner serenity and contentment. It adds luster to our individual lives as nothing else can do. It is the pathway to entering the glorious spiritual realm within ourselves.

To paraphrase the Bible, how greater doth a man profit than in the enrichment of his soul?

Think beauty.