In our fear of pain, we run towards anything that will numb us down. Somewhere in the process of snipping off our nerves and burning out our feelings, we have inadvertently shut down the very things we need to find life again. To see and feel opens us to pain, it’s true. But seeing and feeling are vital to experiencing beauty; and beauty is the lifeline we need. Beauty is the eye-opening jolt of hope, an appointment with God and the world that God created. The aesthetic reminds us that we are not done yet. It’s the dead who no longer feel, but we are still among the living.
