Monday, June 15, 2009

The Beauty of Perspective

[20 Jan 2007 | Saturday] The Beauty of Perspective
Current mood: peaceful
Category: Life

Sometimes I need a little inspiration before I can write. I know a lot of you have been clamoring for a new blog from me. I've been just a bit busy of late and just haven't had the time. The other problem is what to write about. It seems that most of my writing needs an impetus, a catalyst of sorts. Well, I finally got one, and, as usual, I find it in a most unlikely and unexpected source. And, unfortunately for me, that inspiration came just after midnight this morning, and so here I am, writing when I should be sleeping. Ah, well. I'll get enough sleep when I'm dead.

The Perspective of Beauty


"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." Everyone has heard that saying. We all mark what is esthetically pleasing to ourselves; everyone has their favorite things (no matter what the reason it is a favorite).

To some degree, the individual differences in what pleases us are what make us human and rather unique as a species when compared to the rest of the animal kingdom. We actually take pleasure in seeing things for what they are or what they will be or what they have been, much unlike any other species. Beauty is not just something visually pleasing. It is everywhere and it affects all of our senses. Tonight, it was a voice, a smell and a smile. It will probably be something entirely different tomorrow.

Obviously our sight is our most important sense and the one sense we think of when we think a particular object is beautiful. Mother Nature has gifted us with many beautiful sights: trees, flowers, mountains, lakes, and animals (just to name a few). The beauty that nature provides is endlessly entertaining to us, a beauty to behold. Sometimes we have to go out of our way a bit to find it, but eventually we will find the rawness of Nature's wild. And it is a picturesque cascade, an assault on all of our senses.

Close your eyes and envision a storm. "What?" you say. Yes, a storm. We see the big pillows of clouds, the thunderheads forming before our eyes, the anvil and the hammer before the symphony of sound. Our eyes get wide with anticipation or resignation. The white turns to silver and grey, eventually to black.

Imagine the lightning streaking from the clouds to the ground. It zigs and it zags; it eventually finds a target and strikes. Seemingly hundreds of branches appear in that split second that it strikes, like branches of a tree. Every single part crackles with power and we witness the awesomeness of Nature at its fury.

We smell the muskiness of the coming storm, especially prominent in the summer. We smell the ionized air as the lightning tears through the air, ripping electrons from each atom as it slices through to the ground. The wind picks up, we feel it as it brushes our cheeks and we hear it as it wisps by our ears. A few moments later we hear a thundering crescendo as the hammer finally strikes the anvil, echoing throughout the land as the sound waves bounce off all the objects in its path before reaching our ears.

Finally, the rain. We hear the drops individually as they hit the earth, slowly gathering its momentum until we can't hear the singular drops but sheets of water, a waterfall without the river and mountains. We feel the drops as they hit our face, each one followed closely by another. We stick out our tongues to catch the drops, much like we remember doing as children. We taste the raw water, newly formed and almost pure. Nothing like the fresh taste of water. Never thought about it like that, did you? Perfect beauty.

In this crazy age of information and instantaneous gratification, sometimes it just feels right to slow it down a bit and enjoy the things that just seem to zip by.

We all are different and we enjoy different things. There is a certain beauty in music, whether it is Nature, Mozart, Dizzy Gillespie, Sarah Brightman, or Rage Against the Machine. Each of us have our preferences in music, of course, but who of us is to say it isn't beautiful. The voice of a dear friend, calm and reassuring, helps to calm us in a time of need. There is beauty in that as well.

Our taste for seafood, soups, meats, breads, pastas, fruits and vegetables, and drinks all vary. There are favorites in every category. Each has its own uniqueness, a taste that no other food can provide. What man can say that a perfectly cooked steak isn't a beautiful thing to behold, and even better to taste?

We are inundated with smells, fragrances from every source. Our sense of taste is relatively primitive when compared to our sense of smell. We can literally distinguish thousands of smells, even from the most minute of quantities. Flowers, perfumes, and food are our most favorite of smells. The daily assault on our noses is a beautiful thing.

Our sense of touch, though limited, is important. The roughness of a tree's bark, the softness of a loved one's hands, the lapping of water against our skin, or the pelting of rain against our face. What more to be said?

This brings us back to sight. Architecture (whether it be old or new), people, objects, paintings, colors, tints, and the vagaries of nature inundate us with sights to behold and wonder. A virtual kaleidoscope of objects and forms, aesthetic wonders to observe.

What set me off on this tangent tonight? A cute little smile from a pretty girl (and a good friend), her voice, some good music and the smell of a flowery perfume. Beautiful.

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Damn Mikey, That was deep!!!! I actually got lost in the thunderstorm...AWESOME!!! Ever thought of giving up EMS and smoking dope and becoming a writer like Steven King? LOL.

Love ya' Sweetness, Brenda
Posted by BRENDA on [21 Jan 2007 | Sunday] - 02:05

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Actually, no I haven't given it much thought. I'm having too much fun with everything else right now. Might consider it later in life, though.

Don't know where it came from, but there it was!

Love ya!




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