The Growth of Beauty

We live in Wisconsin and in the early Spring I enjoy driving around and looking at the scenery. You might think that there isn’t much to see with there being little to no new growth and the snow having just melted. What I enjoy about the scenery is you can see across the landscape and deep into the woods. There are no leaves or undergrowth to block your sight lines. You can really see the topography of the land. We live in an area called the Kettle Moraines and there is a lot of evidence of when the glaciers moved through the area. The glacial deposits when they melted created small hills and bowls (kames and kettles) and snaking ridge lines (eskers). These are not visible from afar when the leaves and undergrowth are in bloom.

What intrigues me this time of the year is that you can see the actual landscape. There is nothing to cover it up. There is nothing to distract or block you from seeing the true shape of the land. As it moves later into Spring and then into Summer the beauty of the land emerges. The trees and undergrowth bud and bloom, the grasses grow and sway in the wind. You go from seeing only drab shades of brown to the explosion of colors and beauty that is growth of Spring and into Summer. On the surface level late Spring and Summer are when most people enjoy looking at the scenery. It is the outward representation of what the land is, but in my view it is not the true picture of what the land really looks like.

How many of us walk around with our outward representation of beauty always showing? How often do we present faces or facades to cover up or block the true landscape that is underneath? Part of what I enjoy about living in Wisconsin in the Spring and Summer is watching that transition into beauty. Nature is not afraid to show us her true self. It is from the exposure of the true self that beauty can be created. How different would our lives be, how different would the world be, if we allowed our true self to be on full display for all to see. If others could see the pain that we feel and hide, they would then also be able to see the growth of beauty as we gain peace and understanding from that pain.