VOLUME 7 |ISSUE 3 |2016 2323
Flowers, Pine Needles, Sparkling Stream:
Since leaving, I am often filled with a sense of awe in
being able to really see the beauty in the world
around me. While I was in the cult, my life was so
filled with the stress of trying to “live the life” that
those efforts consumed all my attention. Such a self-
centered culture prevented me from connecting with
the rest of the world, both physically and socially.
From pine needles on the dark earth, to the sparkle
of flowers in the dew-laden morning light, to the
effervescence of a sparkling stream, beauty and joy
show up all around. As C.S. Lewis said in the title of
his book, I am often “Surprised by Joy.”
Flowers, Pine Needles, Sparkling Stream:
Since leaving, I am often filled with a sense of awe in
being able to really see the beauty in the world
around me. While I was in the cult, my life was so
filled with the stress of trying to “live the life” that
those efforts consumed all my attention. Such a self-
centered culture prevented me from connecting with
the rest of the world, both physically and socially.
From pine needles on the dark earth, to the sparkle
of flowers in the dew-laden morning light, to the
effervescence of a sparkling stream, beauty and joy
show up all around. As C.S. Lewis said in the title of
his book, I am often “Surprised by Joy.”
