A sense of beauty

Greece is full of an incredible natural beauty that nothing can obscure.  The color of the sea, the mountains rising in the distance, all lifts your eyes away from whatever commercial signs or hastily-built buildings might be in the foreground.

The Acropolis from my balcony on the first night in Athens

The same view without zoom.

That is one way to look at it... the natural beauty is the heavenly that helps us deal with the mess of life below. 

Kefalonia, from the road side.

But there is more going on here, an interaction, sometimes between the human and the divine. That photo of the bay was taken at a gas station, see below:

That photo was taken from here, which was a safe place to stop.  

That view is from a gas station.  That combination of the most ugly functional service that has the most beautiful view seems at first to be a travesty.  There should be a restaurant here! Or a national park! But this little gas station has taken its location  seriously:  look, there is a seating area with benches and an olive tree so you can relax, have a coffee, and contemplate the view after you stop for gas.  This is a gas station with a sense of responsibility to share the joys of its view and celebrate its location.  This is a gas station where you don't stop for a second, this is a rest stop!  

And another outdoor seating area by the building, and more plantings on the side.

And furthermore, it has a sense of pride.  There are lovely plantings that have been cared for, and pavings rather than just concrete to create the seating area.  This isn't just a clean place to fulfill the physical needs of humans and automobiles.  It is a place to sit down and take in a glorious view, and refuel the spirit as well as the body and the car.