Beauty Revisited

Sometimes when I read the news (I refuse to link to any stories about those bastards who killed all those children...) or this kind of miserable stuff is going on constantly, or I see the racist bullshit posted here by lunatics, or just thinking about the so-called president (I refuse to link to anything about that bastard either) or I read dire predictions (though this one is extremely well-written, it makes it bearable to read the sadness...) or...you get the idea. One can get very very disheartened (while I am glad these people do what they do, I can't be one of them...which makes me sometimes feel like I am copping out).

But then there is Zenchick (who's path along the Zen highway is inspiring always) and Watersea (who knows absolutely ALWAYS the right thing to say to me and draws gut-wrenchingly funny cartoons) and these lovely photos (Hi M :) or these make-you-wish-you-were-beautiful photos or these everyday life ones or this woman's blog about everyday life as well (my heart hurts to read this one, but in a good way). Here you will find peace and humor and art and the stuff of everyday life, as life must move on for us all, despite all the horror that surrounds us.

My friend Carole, whom I met when I studied in Paris (very cool story about the power of synchronicity and realizing we don't always get what we want, but something better tied to the beginning of our friendship---for another time), used to work her ass off for IBM as a programmer. She's model-beautiful, extremely intelligent, AND she's a dammed nice person. But she used to seem on occassion to me, somewhat cool (as opposed to high-spirited me).

A few years ago, she just started to paint. Painted all the time. She was not an artist but this is what she did. Then she wrote a book. Then she "dropped out" from IBM and that whole life. She got rid of all extraneous stuff. She began to meditate, like really really meditate. All the time. Now she lives in the UK and has a simple life, much more than she did here.

One time I was moaning about all the garbage going on, and she said she just simply didn't read about it or look at the news, etc. She felt that it was poison to do this. She felt that the only solution is to look within and deal with yourself. Meditate. Pray. Change the self within. Purify.

I like that idea, but I can't go quite as far as her. So this blog is what I do. Singing and playing my guitar again is what I do (even if only for me). Writing a poem is what I do. Reading a book is what I do. Stopping and taking those photos on my way home tonight at the fountain is what I do.

After all, just as evil and misery is all around us, so is beauty and love and compassion. I try to find that more and more. It's difficult. My camera has helped actually, because now I am always glancing around thinking "Hmmmmm. Would that over there make a good photo...?"

Just my thoughts on things. Peace.