Beautiful

Unlike many Presbyterians, he often used the word "beautiful."
- Norman Maclean, A River Runs Through It

I read through a heaping-pancake-stack of book proposals yesterday; it's one of the things that I do. From that which is factual (non-fiction) to that which may be true (fiction), they covered the spectrum. I adhere to the thinking that facts often have little to do with the truth; it's one of the things I believe.

Some of the proposals were good, some needed a little spit and polish, some needed the good Lord to lay hands on them; such is the nature of writing. But I cannot remember any of the authors, at any point, whether in synopsis or bio or competitive titles or sample chapters, using the word "beautiful." Now that word is not necessarily some grid that I run book proposals through to determine their worth, but I'm re-reading Maclean's gem and that sentence was on my mind and I do have a tendency to run book proposals through what's on my mind.

Words like "God" and "green" and "debt-free" and "fixation" were used in abundance, but never once a "beautiful." Based on my tendency to run book proposals through what's on my mind, it would seem that all of these authors are like many Presbyterians. All of the authors would identify themselves as "believers in God" so maybe, just maybe, many or most believers in God do not often use the word "beautiful." I'm not too hip on logical reasoning, but it would seem you could get there from there.

Beautiful. Please understand that I don't often use the word "beautiful" either, but I'd like to start. I guess it's possible that many Presbyterians, and most believers in God for that matter, don't often use the word "beautiful" because we don't see beauty in this world. So I guess it's possibly a problem with our vision, the way we see. I remember reading somewhere (maybe in a book proposal) about people who have eyes but do not see. I guess that could describe many Presbyterians. Or most believers in God. And possibly, me.

Oh, be careful little eyes what you see...