Spirit Over Matter

I'm currently reading about Galileo and his contributions to the Renaissance. There is one thing in particular that stands out in my mind. He speaks of primary and secondary qualities. By studying and investigating primary qualities we can learn the truth about something. He defines primary qualities as those things which can be measured and studied mathematically like size, position, mass, and so forth. Primary qualities he postulates are the only qualities that are real and reliable. Fair enough, I agree with that from a scientific point of view. Secondary qualities are categorized as the attributes that we know about because of our senses, such as color, smell, and emotions. I found this very interesting because the qualities that we most often identify and label something with and by are these secondary "unreliable" qualities. Think about it, how many of us describe the castle we visited by its square footage or the amount of bricks used to build it? We don't. We tell our friends about how beautiful it was and breathtakingly magnificent it was to consider all the work that went into constructing that fortification. Also that is how we label people. Oh she is so nice! He is such a great guy! Not 'he is approximately six feet tall and weights 175 lbs with %9 body fat'! So why do we use these secondary 'unreliable' qualities as our reference points? Especially since all of us have a different perception and expectation of these qualities. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder right? Yet that is one of the first reference points that we use. These secondary qualities Galileo says, "reside only in the consciousness; if the living creature were removed, all of these qualities would be wiped away and annihilated." Strange thought. The consciousness is directly connected with the spirit of man. It is because of this spirit that we move, think, perceive and feel. Without spirit all that would exist would be matter and math to describe it. Sounds a bit boring. I love the fact that our spirit governs over matter. I love that it is our spirit whose Father is divine that is the vehicle of thought and the instrument of perception. Philosophers have alway debated and thought 'what makes something beautiful?'. Now I don't claim to be a philosopher or a great mind like the rest of them but I have some ideas of my own. Sometimes I feel as did Abraham that I am a wonderer and a stranger here. That I belong in greater, more exalted spheres. I guess in a sense I have spurts of spiritual homesickness. My sprite remembers the feel of the Fathers presence and longs for it, and at times will recognize things that are similar to that existence. This I feel is where that sense of beauty come from. Our spirit recognizes something which is similar to what it experienced before it entered this fragile existence and fondly remembers the original object or attribute. It's is interesting that beauty is not only limited to that which is physical this fact makes beauty an abstract quality. Beauty can be found in words, music, principles, fiction, and ideas. The closer something reflects the world we once knew the more beautiful it is to us! I'm so grateful to be a living soul. What a great thing it is to be a combination of a physical and spiritual body with all the different senses and experiences we get to have! God be thanked for his great plan of salvation! And for the gift of His Son so that this is not a short lived ride but can be the start of a brilliant eternal experience!