Beauty in all its manifest forms (Originally published on March 11, 2007)

I was walking around today briefly. Our brief cold snap has ended and perhaps winter along with it. We shall see. I have to admit I'm not a huge fan of winter or more specifically of the cold. But, it has a beauty to it. A stark realism inhabits it.

I seem to think of two forms of beauty: human-made and natural. In many cases, the one mirrors the other. This is our home. It's definition of beauty has been ours since the birth of our species. But we have stepped from it. Our languages have given us access to a form of beauty not known to the natural world. Our hands have made music that transcends what nature considers her score. Whether or not it surpasses it, I leave to each person's interpretation.

But, there does seem to me to be something are form of beauty does not deal well with. We have made our creations as timeless as possible. We think not of their appearance when in decay. Most of our thoughts of decay are negative and sometimes even hideous. We fear it and so we work to create the evergreen.

Nature has no such limitation. Although it may not be what we consider beauty, it considers decay as part of the endless cycle. Decay is the sustenance of the land. The dying tree still stands majestically albeit without its youthful color. When it does fall, it becomes food and shelter and a myriad of other things. Nature contains nothing for which the word dilapidated seems apropos.

Perhaps one day will we learn that nothing can stand forever. We have learned the power of the ruin. I think our next step is to give our ruins back to the earth. Let the ivy take the bricks apart. Let us see what nature will do with the Parthenon and the Colosseum and Stonehenge if left alone.

Perhaps over time the stone will be returned to the ground from which it came. Then we may see that the work of our hands is no more permanent than we are. Perhaps we can learn that decay is simply part of the cycle and turn from our fears.