Several years ago, I spent a quiet January day wandering the lovely halls of the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, California. It is an impressive place that always serves as the backdrop for the famous Rose Parade. (It is the blue tiled building with the rounded corners.)

Inside, the walls are filled with the great masters’ works. You marvel at the colors of Van Gogh or Rembrandt’s light or Cezanne’s sense of gentle mystery. Each time I turned another corner I seemed to be taken further and further away from the pressures of everyday life.

There I was in another world filled with beauty and truth and inspiration. Painting after painting transported me somewhere beyond my surroundings.

Suddenly I found myself staring at a rather realistic depiction of a man in his fifties with a pleasant enough demeanor but a distant look.

I wondered what he was thinking.

I suspect it took less than a nanosecond before I realized that I was staring into a mirror.

It was me!

And I liked what I saw!

I quickly sat down on a bench that was conveniently placed nearby for just such a reason and I pondered over what had just happened.

Here in the midst of such bountiful beauty, I encountered another creation of love...and it was me.

Did I belong in such distinguished and delightful company? Did I deserve such an ego-inflating honor? Was this some kind of holy moment?

Yes, yes and yes!

The words of Jesus that came to mind and heart as I sat on that bench..."You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

It was then that I began to notice all the other art lovers who were sharing in that same beautiful place. They, too, were works of art. They, too, were created out of love.

Sitting on a bench in an art museum in Pasadena, I suddenly became aware that I was surrounded by a beauty that not only hung from walls but walked and talked and breathed and lived.

Before long a young woman paused before the mirror. I quickly vacated my chair of contemplation but not before I caught a glimpse of a smile beginning to spread across her face.