A few days ago I had a passing conversation with a young musician, it went something like this as he explained to me his opinion regarding a topic we were discussing…”Unique is not always a good thing, it can be well, just unique, not beautiful, or useful, or purposeful….it can just be…unique” To which I smiled and nodded as his analytical mind resolved an “all or nothing” decision and moved on.
Most of us live a more messy life. We’re neither all this or nothing that, but somewhere in between with baggage left over from another day. It would be a simpler life I suspect if there was a the ability to use the dividing sword, as King Solomon suggested when posed with a messy situation regarding possession and ownership of an infant, but rarely do swords and slices solve anything without much unnecessary pain.
We have to find our own middle ground. That place that allows for human frailty and yet embraces the values and imperfections that human life brings to living. The flowers photographed last week on my trip to the hills are in fact, imperfect, they are missing a petal or three, colored differently than the surrounding area, yet they are beautiful, they stood out from among the thousands of others in their space. For some that would mean that they “broke rank” and should be ashamed, for others, they might be pitied for the loss of their petals before their time, and for yet others, the presence of flowers at all against the barn would have been a waste of energy to plant. You see the perspective brought to the table so colors the presence of the mind. Personally I found them to be enchanting, as though a painter had chosen to bring in their hues and imperfections to perfectly compliment the scene of the barn and to bring joy to the viewer….for me, they were a living portrait of a living God who knew exactly how to delight my soul in color…and stood as a testament to choosing to stand tall though imperfect after perhaps surviving the battles of life.
Our perspectives are unique to us, and what we look for we most often find. I hope that this day you will choose to look for the lovely in your world, and find beauty in the unique, even when it presents itself missing some key components…for another season, perhaps through your eyes, the situation can be perceived in a new way and you can find value in its presence.
after all, what you choose to seek is very often what you find.
