Beauty

Recently I have failed to see the beauty that surrounds me and this has made me a smaller person. It is important to stop and observe the world every now and then and the thing is beauty is everywhere once you start to look. Everything can be beautiful in some aspect. Everything from thoughts to mechanical contraptions have some worth, some aesthetic that can be contemplated and admired. Some things such as flowers or a sunset are easy to admire. Others, like fat a biker or a tin of soup are more difficult. It is up to the observer to uncover the secret.

Some times it takes training and knowledge to appreciate the beauty of the universe. To me Maxwells equations are a sublime with their ability to describe the electro-magnetic world with out the complexity of photons or general relativity. Sure they break down but with in constraints they are adequate and marvellous.

Very ugly can have a beautiful aspect. To the world the HIV virus is a nasty, evil, trick of nature but to a virologist it must be a wonder. A simple almost living entity that evolution has equipped with such cunning and tenacity.

I don’t really understand what beauty is but I know it when I see it. Some set of cogs kick into place and it is revealed.

I just did an exercise. I looked to the left of the screen I am composing this note upon and spotted a football team fixture booklet pinned to the wall. It was placed there by the previous occupant of this office. Analysing it it’s beauty is manifold. The lyrics to a team song are on one side and the teams fixtures for season 2005 on the other. The song evokes scenes of a crowd I was part of one year when that particular team won. The way the A6 booklet hangs from a blue pin in equilibrium. The tension of the crease trying to close the booklet as it hangs on 45 degree angle. A constant struggle of molecular cohesion against gravity. It has balance and even intrigue. I don’t know what is on it’s other pages although I can see there are several.

I will aim to find beauty around myself when ever possible. Maybe I will become a tree hugging ecstasy popping hippy. Not.

Peace man.