Finding beauty in the little things

Years (and years and years) ago, my mother and I were traveling through New England together.  I was writing a book about gardening and she was along for the ride.  As we sped through backroads of Massachusetts, we suddenly rounded a curve and before us was an entire field of bright yellow dandelions.

I stopped the car and we stared in amazement.  Then my mother said, “they would be pretty if they weren’t so common.”  I laughed out loud.  They were spectacular even though there are few flowers more common than a dandelion.

It was an unusual comment for my Mom to make because she was the one who taught me to look for beauty in all kinds of unexpected places.  As an artist, she saw the world a little differently than most people and she seemed to be in a constant state of amazement about the beauty she found around her.

As a teenager, I would become annoyed with her when she called me to “come quickly!” and pull me away from my book or worse, talking on the phone with a friend.  I would “come quickly!” and she would point out something – anything!- that had caught her eye;  how the sunlight made the maple tree look like it was bursting into flames or how the veins of a common violet were absolutely beautiful.

It’s only now, so many years later, that I know that the lesson she taught me was so much more important than my book – or my conversation with my friend. I try to pass this lesson on to my grandchildren so when I pull Rivers and Ellie, or Davey and George, or Rowan and Braxton, away from what they are doing to see how truly beautiful the dandelions are, I ignore their protestations and hope that one day they’ll be doing the same for their grandchildren.  Beauty is everywhere, especially this time of year as tiny wildflowers and weeds appear as if by magic.  You might have to get down on your knees to see them but there’s no better place to be, to appreciate the absolute miracle of the world.