Beauty

I was thinking about all the ugliness I am seeing in the world at the moment, and it occurred to me that is not all there is.  There is much beauty.  While it may be highlighted less than it was, it is still there for me to see and appreciate.
I was considering Russia going into Ukraine and the destruction on display.  Buildings mangled.  People dying.  Any picture of war seems to contain such images.  It is not pleasant, but it is not all there is.  Ugliness may be enlarging, but there will come a day when it has had its day.
To me there is beauty all around.  It may be in decline but to me it is like a count my blessings thing.  That is easy to say.  I visited someone today and Merril and I both thought some people have it tough.  There was the sound of moaning in the background the whole time.  We both knew the reason was a long-term thing.
I thought to myself, “where is the beauty?”  Then I thought there is a roof over the head, and it is a large property.  While in many cases that would be swapped for a resolution of other matters, the beauty to me is in that it is better to be comfortable and suffering then uncomfortable and suffering.  A home is a beautiful thing, as is a block of land.
I heard about two guys sharing a room in hospital.  One was bed bound and blind and the other used to describe the scene out the window to him.  He died.  It was then discovered by the other he had been blind.  What he described was in his imagination.  To me imagination can be a beautiful thing.
It is a product of the times I am living in, and the priorities of the rich, that so much of beauty that the poor could enjoy, is being bought up to be used exclusively by the rich.  I think of the demise of many caravan parks that were on prime real estate.  They have been closed and developed. 
It seems to me to be barking up the wrong tree to think that something like plastic surgery can make someone more beautiful.  While it may have a positive impact on the outside, it will never be a substitute for inner beauty.  Having said that, beauty on the outside and in is a pretty good combo.  But packaging matters less than what is inside.
They say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  I know that I do not see beauty if I am not looking for beauty.  It seems that in so much of life I see what I am looking for.  If I only see ugliness and destruction my tunnel vision tends to preclude me seeing the beauty that is there.
Beauty to me is not only a far-off thing, but it is close at hand when I have eyes to see it.