Seeking hidden beauty
Frankly, barren deserts don’t excite me much, although our long Gray Hog trips often had to cross 300 to 400 miles of them that surround SoCal, before arriving at the majestic mountains and forests that soothe our souls. Just a dues-paying part before reaching God’s beauty and majesty. But my last ride is changing my attitude.
On my solo part of my ride home from Taos and Rich, just west of Kingman AZ, I saw this pictured hill. The bottom had distinct pink with brown at the top. Truly, the pic doesn’t fully capture the contrast, but the sight caused me to seek out all the different tones of the desert. Some hills combined stark black and white. Some blended red and tan. The growing shadows revealed more ranges of color, from subtle hues to brighter to darker.
God blended all these colors and hues like an artist. He could have chosen a monochromatic palette on the gray scale…muting the beauty. But he mixed in different minerals, each contributing colors and useful properties. Many hills came in layers, originally horizontal, but underground forces pushed them up unevenly, creating different shapes and lines. A sudden realization struck: we hippies didn’t invent tie-dyed T shirts, those colorful shirts where the shirt was tied in knots and dye was placed, giving a beauty that could never be duplicated. God invented this. In his deserts. Where the ground had little vegetation to cover the minerals colors and shapes.
Why? I suspect several purposes. First, God just loves beauty, as part of his nature, his identity. His mountains show that. So do the space cameras that only of late reveal the beauty of the galaxies. Look at the beauty of ungainly flamingo. Realize that for eons, no human could see much of these beauty—only the Creator and his angels. Thankfully, he imbedded that love of beauty in his human creation. A grace gift.
But perhaps he tie-dyed his deserts, and put beauty into creation, as a metaphor. Maybe rather than bemoaning some parts of creation with little apparent beauty, we should go on beauty treasure hunts. Not just in deserts, nor redwood forests, but in all dimensions of life. Look for the peaceful demeanor of an otherwise plain woman. Gaze at the unifying smile of a long-married couple. Observe a simple act of kindness done to a stranger. Appreciate the graceful lines of a sports car. Feel the power of a lightning storm. Listen for the intricate melody of a song. Feel the softness of a cat’s fur. Look for…
Well, you have the idea. Seek out the beauty and uniqueness of all parts of God’s creation. Then ponder the value that He places on them.
Kick Starting the Application
Do you typically look for beauty in unexpected places? Have you sometimes been surprised by those grace notes, like happened to me with that pink and brown hill? Can you connect their beauty with the Creator?
PS You can’t tie-dye a desert, but here’s how to tie-dye a T shirt! https://www.wikihow.com/Tie-Dye-a-Shirt