Wholehearted Beauty

“Today, like every other day, we wake up empty and frightened. Don't open the door to the study and begin reading. Take down the dulcimer. Let the beauty we love be what we do. There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.” (Rumi 13th Century)

It is the struggle of the Stradivarius tree—the struggle for water, for light, and for space—that makes it uniquely qualified to be crafted into a beautiful violin. (The Power of Belonging Will Van Der Hart, Rob Waller)

The trees at the edge of the forest

that have not had to struggle

for water and air

whose branches are plentiful

whose leaves are many

are too full of knots

to make beautiful instruments

Only those that have struggled

Forced to endure darkness

Forced to grow thin and tall 

Forced to eschew branches 

to occupy less space

Forced to seek the light

those are the trees

Chosen

to be fashioned

into beautiful instruments

For beauty insists

that we go beyond what we see

that we persistently look

for that which is considered impossible

that we look deep within

and call forth

an ancient wisdom

that refuses to settle for ordinary

While beautiful music 

requires discipline

many hours 

of patiently rehearsing

the notes on the page

laying each one down

allowing even the discords 

to find their place

Until

from the grit 

of persistence

transformation occurs

and out of brokenness

emerges beauty

forged in love

sustained by care.

A wholehearted offering 

to beautify the world.