Beauty: A Tool in the Toolbox

Welcome to Brevis Talk. The talks you are about to hear will be honest, revealing, and unfiltered. Join us as your host. Pastor Wayne Whiteside lifts the lid of silence and has conversations about mental illness and health in the church. The goal here is simple. It is to help someone along this journey of life who is struggling. It is to tell the truth to the unsuspecting and it is to lighten the load of a fellow traveler. This podcast is for informational purposes only and is not intended to serve as medical advice or to replace consultation with your physician or mental health professional.

If you are experiencing a medical crisis, call 9 1 1 or go to the nearest Emergency Room. Now, here's your host, pastor Wayne.

Speaker 2 (43s): Okay, today we're back for another Brevis talk and we will add another tool in the toolbox. And today our tool is Beauty. Yes, Beauty, B-E-A-U-T-Y. Again, not one of these tools by themselves usually heals or puts mental illness in remission. It is a combination and this one is very, very important and it's like the other ones.

Sometimes it's hard to get started, but what I'm speaking of today is enjoying Beauty. I'm telling you, I guess to get outdoors, someone has said that Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, and I'm telling you to behold, in depression, when the dark cloud is over you, that is one of the last things that you think about And. that is the Beauty of life and the Beauty of what you do have.

But there is healing and it's very therapeutic to look afresh in a new, at a new sunset or sunrise. I was thinking here just not terribly long ago, one of the most beautiful sunsets that I'd ever seen. The, the clouds lit up or at least the horizon lit up and it was purple. It had a purple background. I don't understand that there are people who study these things and probably have a proper name for this, but all I knew was that was one of the most beautiful sunsets that I had seen and I've been on this planet a few years and there's something about that, the serenity, the tranquility of just of observing Beauty.

Many, many years ago, I believe it was Denmark, a study was done concerning depression and mental health and illness, and one of the things that came out of the study was a prompting for the government to build more parks, to get people outside, to get individuals in the sunlight so that they could experience, I guess you would say the Beauty of being outdoors.

There was the correlation in the study, the connection that this is therapeutic, that this does indeed help in the area of depression. And so there was this push or initiative to build more parks and I think they're onto something I would ask you to consider looking at the clouds, rivers, waterfalls. It is no strange thing that people say that water has a calming effect upon them who hasn't seen the Beauty of the mountains, whether it be in person or even in a picture and and just been in awe of the majesty and the Beauty of the creation of God.

You know the Bible says that the world or the earth praises God. All creation gives praise to the creator. The snow, even the rain I I a slow, rainy day, there's something calming about that at least there is for me. E flowers, gardens, flower gardens, wild flowers. I know if you travel through Texas you will see the what's called the Indian paintbrush is a type of flower and the state flower, the blue bonnets, they're just incredible and looking at Beauty and beholding, Beauty does something to the soul of people.

It does lift, it does pick up if you will, And. then there is the simplicity of what you have and what is around you. Again, this is difficult when you're depressed, but it's necessary to take this tool out of the toolbox, take inventory of what is correct in your life, take inventory of what is right. It's the small things that are big things, a good cup of coffee.

I'm not convinced that people love the taste of coffee as much as they love the aroma. Sometimes there's something about the smell of fresh root coffee. It is, how do you put a price tag on that? There's something in the simplicity, the Beauty of simplicity of that, the laughter of children. You are depressed if you are around children and listen to them laugh and listen to them as they they play and discuss among themselves it's, it does something.

I have noticed that people who teach school, public school or or private school for that matter and who are around little children, yes, I'm sure there are stresses and I'm sure there are challenges, but there's something about that that sometimes keeps people young being around fresh little minds, being around people who are able to behold the simplicity and the Beauty of life. They are full of awe and wonder little people, and so there's something about being around children, the laughter children a good book.

I'm a reader. If I have a hobby, I suppose it is reading. There's nothing like a good book, a good book that you get immersed in the story. It'll take you places and it is a gift. Quite often. It is a gift just to read and to just enjoy the simplicity of a book, to have a visit with a long time friend, to sit down with someone who knows you at your very worst, who knows your brokenness, who knows your heartache and your disappointments in life, and yet they don't judge you.

They don't look at you any differently. They're not gonna preach a sermon to you. They're not gonna try to be your coach. You're not gonna become their project. They simply accept you for who you are. And you've been with this person, a childhood friend perhaps all you can go all the way to elementary school, those things through high school, and they are a longtime friend and you can discuss life, the broken dreams, and it's a two-way street. They share, you share, and there's something beautiful about longtime friendships that are based on trust that when you have a conversation, You know it's not gonna be shouted from the mountaintop.

You know it's not gonna go anywhere. And there is, I'm getting into something else there because the Bible says that we, as we confess our sins to one another, we will be healed in the New Testament. It tells us that in the book of James. And so confession, that's a whole nother study actually, but in speaking with a long time friend, there is this measure of trust, honesty, and confession, and it's a beautiful thing.

Life truly is in the hands of the beholder, and I hope you're doing some beholding. I hope you're seeing the Beauty that is around you. The Beauty around you is a gift. It's an unseen gift sometime when you have the dark cloud of depression on you. And trust me, I understand where you're coming from and if you, if you do have that problem, I've been there. It's very difficult to see Beauty. But again, these tools in the toolbox, they are proactive.

If we are passive and just totally given to our depression, 100% without a fight, without challenging it, we'll be swept away, but proactively take a tool out of the toolbox today and began your journey of fighting the oppressor, which is in this case depression in the area of mental he health and illness.

Well, I hope you grant gather something out of that. Very simple. I hope you don't walk away thinking I'm some kind of new age guru or nut because I'm not. I don't worship creation. I worship the Lord God through his son, Jesus Christ, but I do know that Creator, God created this world. It is beautiful and we are to take care of it, and we are responsible stewards of it, and he gave it to us to enjoy and we should do just that, and I hope you have a good rest of your day.

God bless you,

Speaker 0 (10m 7s): And. that concludes our broadcast today. Please don't forget to subscribe to the podcast through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Plus, check us out at our Facebook page or brevistalk.com and take a look at our blog and remember, be kind. Always be kind.