The Beautiful Things

Ok, show of hands…who saw the sunset tonight? C’mon, somebody had to have seen it other than myself. I was driving home just about that time and had to stop at the post office in Apison and just take it in. There were purples and yellows, reds and oranges. There were some clouds that were absorbing the colors wonderfully, looking like a rumpled comforter on an unmade bed. I stood in awe then remembered the camera on my phone. I need to start carrying around my camera, the real one, not this feeble attempt at a camera that I carry in my pocket. Cell phones…they’re not just for calls anymore. The quality isn’t that great in dim lighting, but is pretty ok with good light and no movement.

I took several shots, and the above one was the one that was the most clear, but with those danged utility lines in the way. I stood there for a while and took in the piece of art that was changing before me. Before it was all the way gone, I got in my bus and continued my trek home. In my rear view mirror and side mirrors I could see at different times the glow of the sky. I thought it was just beautiful.

By the time I got home, it was dark and only a tint of red remained in the western sky. I was hoping to get closer to home before it got dark in order to possibly get a glimpse of the mountains in the east reflecting the colors of the sunset, but when I got to where I would be able to see them, they were just these dark shapes on the horizon with not a bit of color in them. That’s ok. The sun will set again, I’m sure.

Seeing tonight’s artwork made me think of the beautiful things in life. A sunrise…just as beautiful (although it is early in the morning…) as a sunset. A sea of wildflowers with varied colors inviting you to run through and fall in among them, with bees and other insects that are attracted buzzing above your head. A far-off mountain range as seen from a valley; that valley as seen from the mountain top. A painting hanging in an art gallery. A well written poem. A woman (sure, some maybe more beautiful than others, but any woman is more beautiful than any man, through my eyes). A child’s picture hanging on the refrigerator, crudely drawn with crayon, drawn with innocence and with love. A waterfall. A well-worn path carving its way through a dense forest. The crystal blue waters of a lagoon on a remote island getaway. A song that makes you think and remember. Life itself.

Sometimes life may not seem beautiful. When your finances are stretched to the point of wondering if utilities will be cut off for non-payment or if the food will last till the next shopping trip; when someone you love hurts you, leaves you, cuts your heart to the core; when you hear things that are said about you behind your back, whether it is true or, like most of the time, just lies spread around; when the balances of happiness and sadness grossly tip over into the negative…life can seem to be not so beautiful. I heard today of the senseless death of a young woman, a mother of two young children. A car wreck took her life and left two others without a mother. Such a sad thing to hear. Makes me think of my own childhood…and feel for those children. Sad times ahead. But you know, it is at those times that the beautiful things in life can stop you in your tracks and leave you in awe. Like tonight’s sunset. I had left my old place after doing a little work on my bus. I know that it is inevitable that I will have to get everything out of the garage. Everything is already out of the house. I still have some odds and ends in the garage, along with my tools and my bus with its heart lying out on the floor. Those things were on my mind on my way from there. I was almost in a depressed state when I left the garage and looked to the west. And there it was, hidden mostly behind a line of trees that for years have blocked my view to the whole picture of the sunset. I hurriedly got in my bus and headed to where I knew I would have a view of the whole western sky. So I got there and…well, got to the beginning of this writing.

Life. It really is beautiful.

You can’t quit until you try
You can’t live until you die
You can’t learn to tell the truth
Until you learn to lie

You can’t breathe until you choke
You gotta laugh when you’re the joke
There’s nothing like a funeral to make you feel alive

Just open your eyes
Just open your eyes
And see that life is beautiful.
Will you swear on your life,
That no one will cry at my funeral?

I know some things that you don’t
I’ve done things that you won’t
There’s nothing like a trailer park to find your way back home

I was waiting for my hearse
What came next was so much worse
It took a funeral to make me feel alive

Just open your eyes
Just open your eyes
And see that life is beautiful.
Will you swear on your life,
That no one will cry at my funeral?

“Life is Beautiful” – Sixx Am

It is true. All you have to do in order to see the things of beauty through all the ugly things that stand in the way is to open your eyes and just look. And see.