Choice of Perspective

Mission accomplished God! Another beautifully executed sunset in the books. History. I was privileged to be able to witness it. My testimony regarding said sunset – it was GLORIOUS.

Yet, as I walked along the beach, my eyes were constantly drawn away from the grandeur of Sol's grand exit and toward the refuse and rubble strewn across the not quite white, yet not quite dingy, sand. On the one hand, the beautiful, moment by moment changing, fiery red to orange to vivid pink to subtle pastel purple hues of sunset. On the other hand, discarded beer bottles, old shoes, and cigarette butts. On the one hand, a flock of small sea birds frolicking in the surf. On the other hand, an endless variety of trash.

So many thoughts fill my mind. My brain throbs and strains to organize ruminations branching out in a dozen different directions. So many clichés I could offer up now. So many lessons can be learned from simple observations if we truly perceive the world around us.

For instance, I had to wonder, why, in the midst of all this sublime wonderment, were my eyes constantly being drawn away from the beckoning beauty and towards the filth? What is it within me that fought against my simply enjoying the all encompassing beauty?

Is this a bad thing? Is there some uncleaness within me that is drawn to the filth around me? Have I lost my appreciation for simple everyday wonders? Have I become jaded and cynical? Do I only look for the bad in the things around me? Or, is this a good thing? Is it my social conscience, pricked by this abuse of God's creation, refusing to look any longer through rose colored glasses at my defiled surroundings?

One of my first instincts was to rehash the often taught look-for-the-good-in-all-things lesson. You know, look at the bright side, and all that. That is certainly true, and applicable here, but I wanted to go just a little deeper, if your indulgence and my mental capacity will permit.

Life is all about choices. I can choose to appreciate or choose to ignore the good and the beautiful. I can choose to perceive or choose to ignore the evil and the squaller. Here again, as in most things, I believe that balance is critical. As the Bible says, there is a time for everything under the sun (or sunset).

There is a time to lament injustices, uncover hidden atrocities, and expose festering, hidden (literal and figurative) refuse. In other words, there are times we need to dwell on the negative. How else can we effect change, except by bringing the wrong into our collective consciousness first? Facing hard truths does not make you a negative person or a pessimist.

But, there are certainly times when we must, for sanity's sake, tune out the filth and simply behold God's handiwork. To not do so is to rob ourselves of life's greatest, God given pleasures, of which we are all entitled to liberally partake. To stop and look at only the good for a while does not mean we are shallow. It does not make us Forest Gump or Rebecca of Sunny Brook Farm.

Another day and time I could report to you how dirty this spot is and how much of a shame it is for people to litter here. Indeed, it is, and I may well rant about that issue yet, but not now. My commentary on societal ills can wait. Right now I need to stop and appreciate nature's beauty and let it's bounty nourish my parched soul. On this perfect, wind swept evening, that beauty is here in abundance, and I choose to quiet myself and drink it in.