C'est beau!

I had originally taken the picture in jest. Walking down the idyllic shore, the sun casting its colors on sky and surf, there wasn’t a thing out of place. That is, until I came precipitously close to stepping on it - a perfectly formed, undefiled piece of excrement. I maneuvered my way around it at first, laughing at my near misfortune, but then, in a surprising bit of quirkiness, I ran back to take a picture of the somewhat comedic scene. I’m glad I did.

Now before you think I’ve gone a little loco, allow me a few moments to share with you just what that short encounter had in store for me. First, there came the wondering … where had it come from? what creature produced it - something domestic or something in that great expanse of sea? how long had it been there? The wondering then moved beyond to deeper pondering … why was it there at just that moment? why was I inspired to snap a photo? was there some meaning there that I was intended to draw from it?

A few days after we returned from the island, I was scrolling through the trip album on my phone. Something about that particular photo again made me pause. Almost silhouetted against the gorgeous sunset that night, there it was, “la merde” framed in splendor. How seemingly ironic, I thought, yet how especially fitting. In that moment, as I walked the beach filled with my subconscious expectations and human tendencies to want my surroundings to cooperate with those expectations, I had had a choice. While my former self would have reacted in the negative - “how disgusting! the audacity of that creature!” or worse yet, “the nerve of some owners!” I had instead reacted with humor, lightheartedness, and a bit of whimsy, refusing to allow what was before me to mar the beauty of the moment.

Since that bit of insight, I’ve noticed other times when “la merde” has shown up on my horizon and threatened to destroy the beauty of the moment before me. It can be glaringly obvious ~ actual excrement in my path, or it can be subtle ~ those words, actions, or thoughts that twist my vision and cloud what was intended to be beautiful. The choice is up to me - to choose not be dismayed or even disappointed by it - but to have the eyes to take in the whole picture. Easy? Not if you are a melancholy soul with a Type A personality! Possible? Absolutely!

I decided to print the photo. It now sits in a gold-embellished thrift store frame on the sideboard in our dining area. It is a daily reminder to myself to look past “la merde” of life to the beauty that is there, to say without hesitation, “C’est beau!”

Contemplation:

Am I one who usually has limited focus - on “la merde” - or one who generally has a wider lens to see beauty?

Is there a particular situation where I am struggling to see a glimpse of beauty? What is one thing I can do to look past “la merde” in the situation to see the beauty present there?

Is there a particular photo or image that speaks to me or shows me the contrast between “la merde” of life and the beauty present there?

Sometimes beauty isn’t visual. In certain situations, the beauty is in the actions or emotions a particular moment has. Can you recall a situation where the visual was bleak but you were aware of the beauty hidden there?

When I look past “la merde” to find and take in the beauty of a particular moment, how does that my perspective and how does it affect those around me?

Today, I looked past ______________________ and instead found _________________________________.