One of my favorite quotes from a speech by Dr. Arbab -- a Baha'i, and a member of an International Baha'i Body that governs Baha'i affairs:

One of the greatest powers seeded in the depths of the human soul is attraction to beauty ... At one level, attraction to
beauty manifests itself in an individual’s impulse to fashion beauty through the visual arts, music, and crafts, and the pleasure he or she derives from beholding the fruits of these creative endeavors. It motivates search for order, meaning and balance, and creates drive for excellence. At another level it makes obedience a most joyous act, a response to Bahá’u’lláh’s exhortation: “Observe My commandments for the love of My beauty.”
How else is the ardent lover of Bahá’u’lláh to understand the mystery of sacrifice, to persist, and to overcome the formidable difficulties that inevitably arise in the path of service to His Cause?

Wow.. I never thought of the the quest for excellence to a search for beauty ..