So what is accomplished by all this discussion of Beauty?  Should we desire beauty, and if so, why?  If Beauty has at least in part an objective part in the fundamental realities of our world, then how does the pursuit of that beauty affect us?  One historic response has been that such seeking of the sublime is part of rightly ordering the affections of our heart.  Only as we seeking the truly beautiful do we begin to train and increase our appetite for truth and goodness.  Lasting, real beauty is not easy to find, nor is it common.  It must be sought, and that search changes us.  The highest in beauty calls for the highest in taste and appetite; it calls for our affections to be set upon the highest Good.

Living a culture that often settles for the easiest the good, the lowest levels of pleasure, means that the one truly seeking beauty will be offered a number of cheap and quick substitutes.  But the best beauty brings a pleasure, a joy that cannot be found in lesser counterfeits.  Taking time, in the midst of all our life’s cares, to “stand and stare” and find the beauty where it may be found can greatly enrich not only your own life, but the lives around you.  A thinking person seeks Beauty knowing that Truth and Goodness are to found nearby.