The Lingering Taste of Beauty
from famine to feast no matter what season you're in
Issue #61
Almost every morning this summer I open the back door to check the weather and the Tennessee heat dampens my skin until I feel like a moist sock. Then I turn back around, walk upstairs and get on the treadmill instead of going outside in the sticky heat for a bike ride. I walk the continuous black loop, never going anywhere, and every few minutes I check to see if the hour is almost over. Finally, I’m finished and I console myself with the thought: At least I’m able to cross something off from the list in my head (Exercise: check).
I can’t help but think back to the days of kayaking and biking last year at this time.
Unfortunately, this summer I let the heat win. From conversations I’ve had with friends, I know I’m not the only one.
From Famine to Feast
The other night my husband and I took a walk outside and I saw this lovely tree that I first discovered last summer on one of my bike rides.
That little taste of beauty lingered with me the rest of the week and when I woke this morning and it was in the 70’s, I didn’t stick my face out the back door, I started getting ready for a bike ride immediately.
I’m not going to lie, initially this wasn’t the most romantic reunion with my bike. First I had to check the tires but the bike pump wasn’t working properly. Then I remembered there was an issue with the seat which caused a twenty minute delay until my husband found the right bolt for the problem.
After picking out music, I finally zoomed down the hill with the wind parading across my face and then settled onto the flat part of the greenway. That’s when the real work began and that’s when I remembered biking is a full-body experience, especially compared to the treadmill. What clued me in was when my muscles told me I might as well be trying for an Olympic gold on the vault because that’s how unprepared they felt for the road ahead.
It was just when I started to sink into the thought: Oh right, this is hard work, that I got my first glimpse of flowers. Stopping to take a photo and then another photo, I remembered that I spend as much time getting off of my bike as I do riding it.
I also remembered that I can’t help smiling while I ride a bike or when I’m taking pictures of flowers. Today I found myself greeting the flowers like old friends. Hello! So good to see you again. This makes for funny situations when people come from the opposite direction and they think I’m smiling at them. Awkward. Why would a stranger be smiling so big at someone else? I shrink my smile a bit and give a brief head nod so I can turn back to the flowers again.
The entire bike ride is about a five mile round trip. Today I never once looked at my phone to see how long I’d been biking and I forgot about checking boxes on my mental list.
By the time I was headed back, I felt like my soul had collected so much joy and beauty and worship that it was spilling onto the greenway and maybe splashing onto the guy passing by with the beard and sunglasses and bucket hat.
A Few Other Feasts
This week my soul reached the brim again while my family of six sat around our kitchen table laughing at ridiculous things that probably only we would find funny. These moments are more of a treat than ever now that two of are our kids have moved out and a third is headed back to college.
At the end of the week, I happened upon a library book sale and stopped for a secret, solo book adventure. As I picked out a little collection of books and records, I walked down the aisles slowly, running my fingers along the spines (other people do this too, right?)
A few weeks ago I went to an art exhibit with my oldest daughter. It was an exhibit of clothing by Lee Alexander McQueen. High fashion has never really captured my interest but as I read the historical and literary explanations behind each piece, I marveled at the ideas that were woven into the patterns and fabrics. It turns out I was just as interested as I had been in the collage exhibit a few months ago.
Different Folks Need Different Feasts
It’s entirely possible, even probable, that you don’t feel the same way I do about bike rides. In fact, you might absolutely love your treadmill. I know in an earlier season of my life, I would have been grateful just for the time alone or the chance to watch movies, no matter how it was packaged.
I believe the things that feed our souls can change throughout our lives, depending on the season and constraints at the time. Sometimes we only have money for the smallest bouquet of flowers but we learn to adapt and find abundance within the scarcity. When the kids were young and the budget was even leaner than it is today, one of my simple joys was searching for beauty at the thrift store.
May the lingering taste of beauty tempt you toward a feast this week, no matter how small or how grand it might be.
Whatever season you’re in, I’d love to hear what’s filling your soul lately.
Continue the Journey
A while back I wrote about my attempt to use a treadmill desk, like author Ann Patchett.
You can journey with me on my bike rides in these previous posts: A Beauty Diviner on a November Bike Ride, Is it Loud in Here or is it Just Me?, and Through Luscious, Green Fields
Another thing that delighted my soul this week was this documentary on how Cirque Du Soleil brought back their highest grossing show, “O”, after the pandemic shut down all of their shows. (Currently available on Amazon Prime)
From the Sketchbook
Last year I made a ‘zine all about my love of bike rides and funny enough, when I looked at it again today, it captures almost exactly what I wrote in today’s post. There’s a video of the ‘zine here.
Blessings from the Guest Nest,
-Aimee
Thanks so much for reading, sharing, and contributing to the conversation. You can support my art and writing by donating to my art supply fund and by sharing this newsletter with friends who might enjoy it.
Love your bike stories so much. I am right there with you!
I can relate -- I feel so much better in every way when I actually get outside, but it's been an adjustment and either very hot or very rainy. We have those pink fluffy trees here too! I need to figure out what they are because I'm always so delighted by them. Those and the magnolia trees, which I'd never seen before moving here.