(Another tardy episode from October, 2017)
Usually when we think of seeking beauty, it’s beauty we can see, hear, touch, smell, taste - the beauty of “now”. As we age… if we are lucky… we get better at finding beauty in memories – the beauty of “what was.”
But now and then we are gifted with premonitions of the beauty that will be. As teachers we sometimes get a glimpse of future greatness in our students… sleeping talents, emerging skills, great spirits. A workman selects a piece of rough-sawn lumber and sees a lustrous mantelpiece waiting to emerge. An artist faces a blank canvass. An Idiot faces a blank computer screen. All are seeking beauty in the promise of what is to come.
One might not think of October as a good time for seeking flowers – but the Colorado Plateau is a place of extremes. The weather can transform rapidly from desert-dry to blizzard-wet. Temperatures can scorch and freeze – sometimes within a period of hours. The plants and animals and people who survive there adapt to the sometimes harsh and ever-changing demands of their environment. Plants flower when they can and produce lots of seeds because few of them will survive the challenges to replace their progenitors.
And so… the Idiots took an occasional break from the magnificent landscapes and looked down at their feet… and captured a little of the beauty in the promise of things to come.
