I recently wrote a blog for Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, as part of their blog series on “What is Beauty?” The title of my post was “Beauty is in the Spirit” and I thought I would re-post it on this site, as it relates to my work. I truly love the way that I am able to experience the Holy Spirit through my work and interactions with local churches and their leaders.
John Davidson
As a kid I can always remember people talking about different types of spirits- the entrepreneurial spirit, winning spirit, moral spirit, and most quoted, “the human spirit”- but I never really understood what they meant.
By nature, the term ‘spirit’ evokes a mythic, smoky, and supernatural image. And as a kid, I took this idea literally, imagining that people had ghost like spirits hovering above them, providing their intangible ‘spirit.’
As a grownup, however, my mental image of the term ‘spirit’ has changed. I now have a deeper perspective for the characteristics that we label as spirits, and I have come to appreciate how we define these types of substances in others.
In my own work as a nonprofit fundraising consultant, I work with amazing people every day. I get to hear leaders describe their stories and passions for serving others, and I try to help them find resources to feed the hungry, treat the sick, save the environment, and building communities. It is awe-inspiring work, and I always marvel at how each of these leaders have a common spirit for sharing, nurturing, and making the world a better place.
In this light, it is easy I have come to define “beauty” as the compassionate loving spirit that humans share in experience.
For me, this beauty is shared across all types of relationships. We see it when we watch aged grandmothers caring for granddaughters in the park, church groups passing out food to the homeless, and when volunteers come together to build landscapes to provide beauty or levees to prevent disaster.
In these types of moments, people often describe feeling a strong sense of euphoria and spirit, because they are working together in harmony for a greater cause. In these moments, people grow beyond their individuality and the share the true beauty of their soul- they share their spirit.
