The Wonderful Superfluousness of Beauty

It was completely superfluous.

During the recent Spring Arts Festival that took over Tempe, Arizona where I live, the city hired an artist to paint a giant sunflower on the circle drive in front of my office building.

Between the cleaning, prep work, and painting, it shut down the little street for six days. Deliveries were halted. It was highly inconvenient. And who knows how much money it cost the city to pay workers to prep the space, buy the paint, and hire the artist.

As I watched the work progress directly below my office window, I was reminded of a quote:

It is the useless things that make life worth living and that make life dangerous too: wine, love, art, beauty. Without them life is safe, but not worth bothering with.

stephen fry

There is a superfluous nature to beauty. It’s not like food, water, oxygen, or shelter. We don’t need it to exist. But is the goal of human life mere existence? Just piling up as many days as possible before succumbing to the inevitability of death? I think not. I’d rather live a short abundant life than a long bleak one. I’m guessing you would too.

So I say bravo to the city of Tempe. I wholeheartedly support the use of my tax dollars on “superfluous” beauty. Thank you for making my life a little brighter, a little more colorful, and for bringing a smile to my face each time I glance out the window.   

What “superfluous” beauty can you enjoy today? Take a walk in a park. Stroll an art gallery. Stream a YouTube nature video on your TV. Set out fresh flowers. Frame a picture you love. Surround yourself with beauty. If you do, you’ll breathe more life into living, and you’ll take another step toward Becoming Yourself.