Weeds And All, Choosing Beauty

This time of year, our yards tell a story.  It is dandelion season.  The way I see it, there are three types of dandelion yards.  The first is the I don't care yard.  The owners have not made any attempt to stop the growth of the yellow things.  The second yard is the I am really trying here, but my neighbor isn't so what am I supposed to do when all those seeds start blowing my way?  The third yard is a pristine expanse of green not even marred by one single dandelion.  Our neighborhood is host to all three of these yards and as I drive by them several times a day, it got me thinking. 


Not everyone feels the way I do about dandelions.  I hate them by the way.  I try to get rid of them, but my yard is still host to several.  The shift in my dandelion perspective came from the sweet children I care for while their parents work.  This past week, I have watched them making wishes as they blow the seeds into the wind (sorry friends next door).  I have been handed bouquets of yellow to the sweet exclamation of "here Miss Weegan, these are fo you".  Just yesterday one of the boys I watch said, "Look at all the beautiful flowers!"  My first response to him was, "well, they might be pretty, but they are just weeds."  I realized that I was in danger of crushing his joy.  He didn't see weeds when he looked at the dandelions.  He saw beauty. 


There comes a time in our lives when we stop seeing beauty.  I am not sure why that happens.  Maybe we become too judgemental and after a while, nothing can measure up to the standard.  I am not just talking about the physical beauty of another human being.  I mean the beauty in everything.  Maybe we are too busy, too jaded, too asleep, too distracted.  We see whatever it is we are looking at or experiencing as just a bunch of weeds.  Somewhere along the line, maybe someone told us, "well, it's nice and you really tried, but it's just a bunch of weeds." 


We need to reclaim beauty.  We need to recognize it and celebrate it.  We need to explore it and create it.  We need to enjoy it and honor it.  Beauty in ourselves, in others and in the world we live in.  Because sometimes, it is more than just a bunch of weeds.  Sometimes it is beautiful.