For every wide-eyed, Hallmark movie-guzzling Christmas lover, there’s two or three quieter figures walking about. Not Grinches, mind you. Just folks who felt the sting of disappointment in Christmases past, or perhaps Christmas just isn’t as magical as when we were growing up. We are those for whom Christmas is enjoyable, but the spark of wonder was diminished or extinguished long ago; we may not even remember exactly when or why.
For me, a lot of the “holiday spirit” usually amounts to untold amounts of stress and every other commercial screaming, “Isn’t this time of year great?!” in my face. I generally exit the room if anyone is watching an overly saccharine holiday movie. But there is plenty of less in-your-face seasonal excitement. Despite my cynicism, I’m not immune to the unique and genuine beauty of the holidays, as challenging as it can be to find it.
Dr. Rhett Diessner’s life’s work has revolved around the study and pursuit of beauty. After completing his doctorate at Harvard in 1988, Diessner began his 33-year tenure at Lewis-Clark State College, where he
became one of the school’s most notable faculty. With more than 70 published articles and a textbook about beauty in its many forms, Diessner says he believes “beauty will save the world.” And he’s got the research to back it up.
Raised in the Baha’i faith and still practicing, Diessner holds a specific view of most holidays.
"Baha'is honor Christmas as the traditional date for the birth of Jesus, who Baha'is revere as a Manifestation of God,” Diessner said. “However, Baha'is do not proactively celebrate Christmas, as we believe in the divine foundation of the world's major religions, and if we celebrated all of those religions' holy days, it would just be one long party.”
Diessner paused and smiled before adding, “though, that doesn't sound like a bad idea.”
With the pressure of the holidays, a quick escape into pop culture can be more than welcome. I asked Diessner for some beautiful media recommendations to enhance this holiday season, or at least make the holidays more tolerable.
Diessner is, no surprise, an avid reader. For those who prefer nonfiction, he recommends “Humankind: A Hopeful History” by Rutger Bregmann.
“It offers a full reanalysis of psychology, sociology and anthropology research,” Diessner said. “At its core, the book demonstrates that the basic person is a good human being.”
As a member of the LCSC Arboretum Committee, Diessner helped the college achieve Level One arboretum status from ArbNet, an international group committed to protecting trees. For an added dose of beauty, take a walk on LC’s campus and appreciate some of its 1,400 trees with a copy of Diessner’s fiction recommendation. “The Overstory” is a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel that follows multiple human characters and looks deeply at humanity’s connection to trees.
“It’s filled with beautiful images of nature, moral beauty in activist heroes and simply beautiful writing itself,” Diessner said.
If these books sound a bit too serious amid the responsibility of the holidays, Diessner’s movie pick, the 1992 romantic comedy “Strictly Ballroom,” will surely lighten the mood. The reason he picked it? Diessner kept his answer short and included a knowing smile: “Beautiful dancing.”
The thousands of students lucky enough to have had Diessner as a professor surely remember him playing music to illustrate psychological concepts. These students, of which I am one, are sure to have heard Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and the accompanying poem “Ode to Joy” in the fourth movement while sitting in the lecture hall. Or, if it wasn’t Beethoven, it’s likely Diessner played the Black Eyed Peas’ megahit, “Where is the Love” or Ziggy Marley’s “Love is My Religion.” He still gives all three pieces of music his highest endorsement.
Thompson enjoys putting somewhat carefully chosen words in relatively meaningful order. He has been to college. He lives in Lewiston and is on Instagram as @theswap_quadcities and can be reached via email at lcvrecordswap@gmail.com.
