Art and The Good Life

Recently, I came across the following line in the poem Mindful by Mary Oliver: “Every day I see or I hear something that more or less kills me with delight, that leaves me like a needle in the haystack of light.” As a result, in my nightly journaling, I am now reflecting on what killed me with delight during the day—because, as Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel has observed, “Our goal should be to live life in radical amazement … get up in the morning and look at the world in a way that takes nothing for granted. …To be spiritual is to be amazed.” It’s what we hear in the wisdom literature over and over: fear (that is, awe) of God and God’s creation is the beginning of wisdom and a primary key to the good life.  

Usually what kills me with delight is something relating to the senses—the texture of a leaf, the taste of an orange, the scent of lilies, the sound of Srs. Elizabeth Carrillo and Judith Sutera singing in harmony. Most recently, I have been killed with delight by a picture of hollyhocks by William Hook that was given to me by my friend, Martha Stegmaier, who has a particular talent for finding beautiful pieces of art. My living group graciously allowed me to take down a battered and tattered framed poster by Claude Monet and hang this vibrant picture in its place.

Art feeds the soul with delight; we need to make a place for it in our homes, workplaces, and churches and support the artists who create this key to living in radical amazement. As Winston Churchill said, “Ill fares the race that fails to salute the arts with the reverence and delight which are their due.” We need to make space in our lives for the arts, which remind us to live with reverence, delight and gratitude—essential ingredients of the good life.