Gleanings from Orthodox Christian Authors and the Holy Fathers

beauty

...seeing the beauty and shapeliness of creatures, separate in your mind what you see from its spiritual meaning, which you do not see, and reflect that all this visible beauty is the work of the invisible and most beautiful creative Spirit, in Whom lies the cause of all external beauty. Then, filled with joy, say: 'O rich streams flowing from an uncreated source! O life-giving rain drawn from the boundless sea of all blessings! How I rejoice in my innermost heart, when I think of the ineffable beauty of my Creator - the origin and cause of all created beauty! What spiritual sweetness fills me, when I hold in my mind to the thought of the beauty of my God, which no word can describe nor thought comprehend, and which is the principle of all beauty!' Lorenzo Scupoli (Unseen Warfare: Chapter 21)