Horrible Beauty
When I was out driving yesterday, I was suddenly engulfed in a blizzard.
A pollen blizzard.
The sun lit up the millions of pollen bits and dandelion fluffs floating through the air.
It was the Dance of the Allergens.
And I just laughed. Because those awful things reap havoc on me… and yet they were so beautiful.
Which makes me think about other things that are terrible and lovely at the same time.
When I was a kid, I lived near a very big factory, and I used to love the puddles in the parking lots after a summer rain. Not only was there a rainbow in the sky. There were rainbows in the puddles. Oh sure, you may call them oil slicks. But they were so pretty. The blues and purples and golds. Those beat-up cars left these portraits just for me.
photo by Yair Haklai
Then there’s food that I just can’t stand – but I have to admit these comestibles are just lovely. Oysters and mushrooms. And most of all, bleu cheese.
The world is full of scary things that are beautiful too.
Sharks and octopus, lions and crocodiles. They can be awesome as well as frightening.
But even the simplest cobweb can take your breath away.
And then there is the category of things that I used to find ugly… that with time I have found beautiful.
Perhaps not ugly, perhaps only invisible, unnoticed.
The gorgeous way the leather has aged on my thirty-year-old checkbook:
And getting back to Dandelions – why do we not consider them beautiful?
Just think how much easier your gardening would be if we suddenly realized that these persistent and prolific petals were also … perhaps pretty.
And of all the things that I did not appreciate – whether they were scary, or threatening, or invisible – where I now see incredible beauty:
Most especially:
Wrinkles.
notquiteold 
Love this! Guess there’s beauty in everything if we just take the time and effort to look!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Dianna. I am not sure everything is beautiful, but there’s a lot more than you’d think, once you really look.
LikeLike
Reblogged this on NANMYKEL.COM and commented:
So very perceptive! Lovely! I’m reblogging
LikeLike
I re-bloggd and commented. Lovely!
LikeLike
Thanks for the re-blog.
LikeLike
Love our spirit.
LikeLike
Beautiful shots!
LikeLike
Thanks… a couple of them are mine, but most come from Pixabay and PXhere… websites that have beautiful, copyright-free photography.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This was so positive. Honestly spiderwebs annoy and frighten me most of the time but if I take a step back and really look at the detail in that picture…I do think they’re beautiful.
LikeLike
Spiderwebs are amazing, even though spiders are scary.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lovely post for getting things in perspective
LikeLike
Thanks!
LikeLike
As a photographer, wrinkles have always attracted me. They show so much character and tell a story of their own in a smile, a pair of eyes or someones hands. Now that I am a woman “of a certain age” I have to remind myself of that.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I kind of like my eye crinkles. I hate though, the lines down my nose and mouth. But oh well… I tell myself it gives me ‘character.’
LikeLiked by 1 person
Love the photoshopped photo–your mother, I assume. One of my favorite movie lines is from “American Beauty”: a plastic grocery bag is dancing in the wind, and the voiceover (Kevin Spacey) says “There is beauty everywhere.”
LikeLike
Oh, I remember that! Thanks! A great image and so fitting for this piece.
LikeLike
I have trouble with my own wrinkles, but appreciate them in others. Great post, thank you!
LikeLike
The crinkles around my eyes are nice… they make me look happy. The others… not so much.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Those who do not learn to see the beautiful things in life will never be happy. ❤ 😉
LikeLike
Very true. And we must try to find beauty in small things…. since there are days when we only see small things, noticing them would make us happy every day.
LikeLike
I could not agree more, I have epilepsy and some days it’s tough but life is truly beautiful and no one should take it for granted.
LikeLike
I love your post it is certainly beautiful.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This comment should be replied to.
LikeLike
Ok… why?
LikeLike
https://britishschooloflanguage.in/
LikeLike
im a new blogger here . very beautiful blog.
LikeLike
Hey Nancy I just love you put everything so clear in just simple words that really make sense and make me see the bigger picture . Thank you .
LikeLike