Welcome! I am a contemplative thinker and photographer from Colorado. In this blog, you'll discover photographs that I've taken on my hiking and backpacking trips, mostly in the American West. I've paired these with my favorite inspirational and philosophical quotes - literary passages that emphasize the innate spirituality of the natural world. I hope you enjoy them!

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In the Spirit of Wildness,

Stephen Hatch
Fort Collins, Colorado

P.S. There's a label index at the bottom of the blog.

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Beauty is the balance between a loving gaze and the goodness of that which is gazed-upon.


During moments when the lighting is just perfect for photography, I perceive a corresponding inner sense of perfection as well. This experience of perfection brings a profound sense of balance, a realization that an external perfection - in this case, the brilliance and restfulness of a Saturday afternoon spent in a sunny mountain meadow -  and the internal perfection of a love-filled gaze, are in complete harmony. This balance might also be described as "beauty."  In the Navajo language, the word "Hozho" translates into English as "beauty," "perfection," and "balance," underscoring the fact that beauty is both aesthetic and moral.  During times when a balance between a loving attitude in the perceiver and the radiant goodness present in the perceived object manifests itself, there exists simultaneously an aesthetic sense of beauty AND a moral sense that everything is as it SHOULD be. These times are a true gift, for they point to the reality of perfection and beauty that are present - though often unperceived - within the heart of every moment of our lives.

Photo: Lichen rocks, a meadow, aspen trees and an outcrop; Elkhorn Creek Trail, Red Feather Lakes, CO; October 26, 2013

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