Hidden Beauty
It is the first real snowstorm of the season. A deep feeling of contentment fills me as I watch the snow fall from the sky. It never fails to amaze me that these tiny flakes will gather together to create mountains of snow in the fields and woods surrounding my cabin. It is pure magic, and I love it.
Four days have passed since the first snowstorm of the season. The snow blankets the ground between the cabin and the pond as I head outside for my morning constitutional walk to the village and beyond. The cart path that leads to the road maintained by the town is lovely this morning. Some snow still clings to tree branches weighing them down, creating a tunnel for me to pass beneath.
As I make my way down the dirt road that leads to the village I notice that the snow, pushed to the edge of the road by the town snowplow is no longer white. It is no longer beautiful. The snow is covered with a layer of brown gravel from the dirt road. As I near the village the snow has more of a blackish hue from the car exhaust, and oil slicks from vehicles in need of a tune-up.
I look at the snow, thinking it ugly. I’m sad that the white snow that fell to the ground has been pushed to the side of the road and is now coated with dirt and pollution.
I suddenly realize that I need to reframe my thoughts on the dirty snow. Thinking about the snow in this way has tarnished the mood of my morning walk. I look at the snow more closely as I walk. I notice the contrast of the various shades of gray, brown and black against the white background. I see interesting patterns in the grains of gravel that have been thrown up on top the snow. As I do this my feelings of happiness return as I walk along.
It dawns on me that the people in my life are kind of like snowflakes. It’s easy for me to love and connect with people who are bright and shiny like the new fallen snow. It is much more difficult for me to like people who are angry and contrary. The ones that have a thicker coating of mud and pollution covering them.
There is something that I definitely love more than snow, and that is newborn babies. Babies are like the snowflakes that fall from the sky. Each one of them is unique, and beautiful, and perfect. They stay as those perfect little beings until the pollution and dirt of this world begins to collect on them
I beseech myself to please remember that underneath the layer of dirt on the snow, and underneath the nasty behavior of some people, lies the hidden beauty of a beautiful snowflake and the wonder of a newborn baby.
I promise myself that I will remember to look deeper to see the beauty that lies beneath the blackened snow and every grownup baby that I meet.
With Love and Energy By the Pond,
Laurel
laurel@energybythepond.com
