Something Beautiful in the Presence of Ugliness
It is always present if we have the eyes to see it
Something beautiful is always present if we have the eyes to see it. The eyes to see ugliness though, are always present as we are bombarded with it in news, movies, shows, and social media feeds. We become used to the ugliness. It comes to feel like it’s just the way the world is.
Countless creative endeavors paint a picture of humanity being fundamentally flawed and doomed to a dystopian future of war, plague, and mindless zombies killing for the sake of killing.
There is plenty of ugly to be seen in the news. Our culture is replete with false narratives designed to keep us in a state of fear, because in fear we are more controllable.
And yet there is beauty all around us.
A sister of mine from ceremony community used to always sing this song after hours in the tipi that went something like this,
Beauty is before me hey yah naw hay nay,
Beauty is behind me hey yah naw hay nay,
Beauty is around me hey yah naw hay nay,
All around, all around, beauty is all around hey nay yo way
I can still hear her sweet voice and the feeling of hope that washed over me when she sang this song. It’s in the choosing that we see it. It’s in the moments we least expect. It can even be found in the ugliness if we have the eyes to see it.
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