Seeing Beauty Everywhere: Our Health May Require It

colinchamp October 27, 2022 6 Comments

Part of the reason I love architecture and stonework so much is that both, oftentimes, display incredible talent of their creators, provide a historical timestamp of our technological abilities, and reveal exceptional beauty, yet is freely accessible to everyone. For instance, when we walk around our hometown of Sewickley, we are privy to incredible visual beauty, including stonework, gardens, and homes reminiscent of Italy, minus the plane ticket and jet lag.

There is a reason people pay large sums of money, crowd into coffin-like planes for trans-Atlantic red-eye flights to see Florence, Rome, Siena, and other beautiful stone medieval towns throughout Europe. Beauty gives us a good feeling; it ignites an inner innate mechanism that tells our brain what we are seeing is pleasant and pleasurable. Seeing positive effects from beauty is in our DNA.

“Put usefulness first, and you lose it.

Put beauty first, and what you do will be useful forever.

It turns out, nothing is more useful than the useless.”

– Sir Roger Scruton

We get to see stonework without flying to Rome, statues without heading to Florence, and even some burnt Siena terra cotta without heading to the former banking capital of Tuscany. Most of this can be seen while walking through town, which is a beautiful village created by human hands over a century ago, set to human scale (and totally walkable), utilizing building techniques that have been mastered over the centuries creating lasting and beautiful homes that will withstand wear and tear for centuries to come. A few blemishes popup here and there, but the good news is these newer constructions are built for obsolescence, and will likely be coming down after 15-20 Pittsburgh winters…

A drive out of town takes you into the hillsides overlooking the town. Several horse farms and cattle ranches dot these slopes, and we often take the 7 minute drive here to get our eggs and grass-fed beef. Along the way home, we may pass one or two incredible French homes with a pond and stream (and yes, without going to Cahors or Southwest France). The best part, the sights are free and for anyone to take in. Ornate and beautiful architecture is the ultimate in egalitarianism and the champion of equality—for instance, whether you live in Sewickley, the North Side, Shadyside or any area of Pittsburgh built before 1950-1980, you will be surrounded by free and open beauty created by some of our cities greatest architects. (Later than this, and you may find yourself surrounded by utilitarian edifices hampered by obsolescence and shoddy craftsmanship).

The point is, beauty is everywhere—all around us—and it is up to us to open our eyes, see it, take it in, and allow it to enrich us. Unlike highbrow art that we must pay a pretty price to peruse in a trendy and perhaps stuffy museum (that often includes an entire canvas painted one color, lights simply flashing on and off as “art”, or, of course, the famous satirical signed urinal that ironically became art) this beauty is not contrived, but rather part of our everyday surroundings and integral in the the literal and physical makeup of our communities. It is free to all passersby. And since beauty it vital to our well-being, we would be wise to take it in and expose ourselves to as much as possible.

“Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.”

– Confucius

Considering how vital beauty has been in the creation of our communities and homes, it is no surprise that studies are shaping up to reveal its importance in our health. Beauty is synonymous with being alive. The word aesthetica—which most of us associate with beauty and aesthetics—means feeling. Additionally, anesthesia, which leaves us unconscious, means without feeling. Feeling and being alive, by definition of the term, is experiencing beauty. It is part of our soul, it is our consciousness.

Studies may echo these thoughts, as inhabitants of more scenic environments report better health, and, according to researchers, aesthetics of the environment may have quantifiable consequences for our wellbeing. This also may be why postoperative patients in rooms with a view of nature have shorter stays, use less pain medications, and cause less issues for the nursing staff versus those facing the brick wall of an adjacent building. Beauty calms us and nurtures us.

To paraphrase Roger Scruton, it liberates our minds and bodies from the tyranny of the ugly. Even Oscar Wilde insisted—partially in jest—that only someone very shallow does not judge by appearances. It nourishes our souls and engages those innate mechanisms buried deep within our cerebrum that crave beauty and signal to the rest of our body that all is well.

Our health requires beauty. It is up to us to let it in.