Encounters with Beauty- Maura Meservey

Maura Meservey 

Beauty 

  1. I experienced beauty last month when I got to see my grandparents for the first time since the covid-19 pandemic began. After a long car ride filled with True Crime podcasts, finally pulling into their driveway in their small Massachusetts town and seeing their faces immediately filled me with joy. 

  2. I felt like a kid on Christmas morning walking up the steps leading to their front door and was so happy to finally hug them. The fresh scent of the New England air quickly transitioned to the smell of coffee and my Grandmother’s cooking. We all became overcome with emotions, as it had been a long year and a half without hugging each other, let alone even seeing each other in person. Their house brought the same level of comfort now as it had been doing for the past 21 years. 

  3. Reuniting with my grandparents was beautiful. The love that grandparents and their grandkids share is one like no other, and I was instantly thankful that I have that love in my life and that my grandparents were still here to share it with me. Watching my grandparents be happily married for 62 years and counting is beautiful. Sacrificing seeing them during this pandemic was hard, but we all knew it was the right thing to do, and finally seeing them after all this time was definitely beautiful.


  1. I experienced beauty in a strange circumstance in September of 2020 when I was in Washington DC to pay my respects to Ruth Bader Ginsburg as she was lying in repose at the steps of the Supreme Court. Seeing hundreds and hundreds of people in their best RBG gear paying homage to someone I admire was incredibly moving. 

  2. The walk from the car to the steps of the Supreme Court was filled with anticipation. Joining in the line of hundreds of people who were feeling similar feelings of sadness but also awe and inspiration was an incredible feeling. This shared sense of mourning, shared by strangers six feet apart, was something I had never really experienced before. 

  3. It seems strange to say that beauty manifested itself at a casket viewing, but it really did. It was beautiful to see someone I consider to be an idol to me be honored by so many for her achievements. The long wait to get to the steps was not annoying, but was beautiful because we knew that the reason we were waiting was because so many other people felt the same way. The shared feeling of empowered grief among all of us is something I can never forget. 


  1. Last Christmas my parents, siblings, and I sat in our living room staring out the huge windows that look out onto Ingram Bay when one of the prettiest sunsets I had ever seen slowly started appearing. My dad jumped up to snap a picture that captured much more than something we experience every night. The decorations for my favorite holiday framing the sunset and my family sitting together out of the camera frame is a great memory. 

  2. Christmas-time has always been my favorite time of year and last Christmas was no different. The winter sunsets fill the entire horizon behind my house. The pink-orange sky is tied together with our beach-themed Christmas tree by the perfectly placed streaks of blue. The water is pink from the reflection of the sky and is so still. 

  3. There are few things more beautiful than a sunset overlooking the water. The Bay is so open it looks and feels as though you could reach the other side of the world on your Kayak. The beautiful tree doesn't just represent the Christmas season, but time spent together as a family during another holiday in a pandemic. It is a beautiful reminder to be present in the moment and thankful for what you have.

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