The Alluring Horizon
19. Blessed is the intellect that transcends all sensible objects and ceaselessly delights in divine beauty.
St. Maximus the Confessor Four Hundred Centuries on Love: #19
Several years ago Vanessa and I were traveling around New Zealand and we stopped at a little park that contained a mirror lake. That morning the world was hushed, the air cool, and the only sound you can hear is the gentle lapping of water against the shore. As you look at the surface of the water you see the reflection of Mount Cook as if and artist painted it on the surface of the water. The snowcapped mountain and subsequent glacier gaze upon you as you absorb the beauty of the world around you.
This scene mirrors the essence of Saying 19: "Blessed is the intellect that transcends all sensible objects and ceaselessly delights in divine beauty." The 'sensible objects' are akin to the mist—near, tangible, and immediate. They're the immediate joys, sorrows, and distractions that cloud our vision daily. The horizon, however, represents the divine beauty—a realm beyond our ordinary perception, vast and infinitely radiant.
Many of us spend our lives captivated by the mist. We chase after fleeting pleasures, find ourselves ensnared by transient sorrows, or remain lost in the mazes of mundane thoughts and desires. These are the 'sensible objects' that, while real and palpable, can often cloud our vision, preventing us from seeing the vastness that lies just beyond.
But like the intrepid explorer, our deeper intellect seeks more than the immediate. It yearns to journey beyond the known, to traverse the expanse of the lake and touch the horizon. To such an intellect, the divine beauty isn't just a distant concept; it's an ever-present reality, waiting to be realized and experienced.
But how do we move beyond the mist? How do we transition from being ensnared by the immediate to being enchanted by the infinite?
The answer lies in stillness. Just as the quietude of dawn allows for the mist to be gently unveiled by the sun's rays, our own inner stillness—cultivated through prayer, contemplation, and a genuine yearning for truth—lets the light of divine beauty pierce through our ordinary perceptions. When our mind, heart, and soul align in this quest for the horizon, the 'sensible' gradually loses its grip, and the vast expanse of divine beauty becomes our living reality.
In the end, Saying 19 isn't just a philosophical musing—it's an invitation. An invitation to each one of us to embark on the most profound journey of our lives: from the known shores of the sensible to the alluring horizons of divine beauty. And as we take each step, may the mist thin out, and may the radiant expanse beyond fill our vision, heart, and soul.