C.S. Lewis contended that shame prevents us from doing good – perhaps even more so than vice.
Shame causes us to shrink back and go small. Shame can also cause us to try and go big to validate ourselves – to attempt something great, but for the wrong reason.
A spiritual practice that can set us free from shame and help us live with greater joy and lightness of being is putting ourselves on the path of beauty.
Researchers at Stanford University sent participants out on a 90-minute walk. Some hiked the Dish, a scenic trail in the foothills near campus, while others walked along one of the busiest streets in Silicon Valley.
Before and after the walk, neuroscientists put participants in an fMRI machine to capture their brain’s resting activity. After the scenic hike – but not the walk on the busy roadway – participants reported less anxiety and negative self-focused thinking. Their post-walk brain scans revealed less activity in the area of the brain linked with self-criticism, sadness and depression.
Shame involves self-analysis and self-critique which are primarily left-brain activities. When we are exposed to beauty in nature, or through some other means, the right hemisphere of our brain becomes more active and the left hemisphere of our brain grows quiet, leaving less room for shame to work.
Shame causes us both literally and figuratively to curl in on our self. But beauty can call us out of our anxious self-absorption.
When we see sun rays breaking through leafy branches in a forest or glistening orange-gold on the water, or when we smell the scent of cedar trees, or notice the flutter of a hummingbird’s wings or the curl of a squirrel’s tail as he nibbles a nut, we can be drawn out of our preoccupation with our self as we become more attuned to the mysterious grace that is woven into the natural world around us.
A number of years ago, on a clear, starlit summer night on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast, I was canoeing with my longtime friend, Elizabeth. Each time we lowered one of our paddles into the ocean, the water lit up with tiny white fireworks because of the phosphorescence.
In a moment of spontaneous exuberance, Elizabeth exclaimed, “This is the greatest experience of my life!” For both of us, that was a night of wonder as we reveled in the luminous beauty of the star-studded sky above us and the sparkling phosphorescence in the water around us.
Have you ever felt profound wonder in the face of beauty? Perhaps it was in nature, or through music, art or in the company of a loved one. If you can imagine this moment and re-feel the wonder of it, you get a small glimpse of what God feels when he sees you.
Whenever we experience wonder in the face of beauty, we are catching a little reflection of God’s countenance as God beholds us. As Simone Weil puts it, “The beauty of the world is the tender smile of Christ to us through matter.”
We don’t have to be canoeing under the stars or standing on the precipice of the Grand Canyon to experience beauty that will transform us.
Abraham Goldberg, a professor at the University of South Carolina, conducted a statistical analysis of happiness in five cities: New York City, Toronto, London, Paris and Berlin. Goldberg and his research colleagues found that what caused people most happiness in each of these cities was not primarily some of the usual happiness markers people think of such as wealth, career or status.
To the surprise of the researchers, every day happiness was most easily attained by people as they experienced beauty in their city each day by putting themselves in the path of parks, green spaces, cobblestone streets, history and lovely architecture.
This had a profound effect on their happiness. The study showed that the cumulative positive effects of daily beauty was subtle but strong.
Each morning, before checking my smart phone or any electronic device, I run through our neighbourhood with our golden retriever, Sasha, then around a nearby park with lovely maple trees, before returning home and beginning my workday.
Take a moment to imagine yourself moving through a typical day in the place where you live. How might you arrange your life so that you make it a practice to put yourself on the pathway of beauty at least once a day?
Perhaps you could enjoy some time outdoors each day – either in your yard or walking down a favourite street in your neighbourhood.
Or cultivate a garden.
Or enjoy a plant inside your home.
Listen to gorgeous music or the waves of the ocean.
Pause before a beautiful building.
Enjoy a painting.
Take time to learn to draw or paint.
Relish a good novel, memoir or film.
Make a favorite recipe – or try a new one.
Ken Shigematsu
As you intentionally place yourself on the pathway of beauty, may you awaken to the presence of God in the world—Christ’s “tender smile” to you through the “matter” of the world.
Ken Shigematsu is Senior Pastor of Tenth Church in Vancouver and a teaching fellow for Practicing the Way. This article is adapted from his book Now I Become Myself.
He has posted this comment on this site as a member of The Bell: Diverse Christian Voices in Vancouver. Go here to see earlier comments in the series.