08_18_2021

The Power of Beauty

                It seems redundant to note that our recent news has been very discouraging given how much quote “bad news” we are subjected to in a normal day.  But the past couple of days have been particularly alarming.  The pictures and stories making visible the panic and fear that unfolded in Afghanistan as the Taliban has taken control of the major cities is hard to witness.

                Watching people on the tarmac running after planes in hopes of finding a seat can’t help but raise anxiety in the viewer.  Watching the videos, I immediately start to wonder about the depth of panic I would experience if I felt threatened enough to walk away from my home, my loved ones, my connections, and my community. 

                I lived with a sick feeling until I had some help in processing what I saw.  I read a short article by Thomas Friedman in the New York Times  a couple of days ago.  His message did not negate the horrors of what we were watching.  Instead, his words of experience suggested that we often have to wait a few days to gain a better understanding of the circumstances that may have contributed to what we were seeing.  https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/16/opinion/afghanistan-biden-taliban.html

                Friedman’s advice helped me put on my brakes before descending into concluding that this was a lasting catastrophic event.  Part of my unease in following this story was wondering how those in leadership positions in the United States could have allowed this to happen.  I agree with President Biden’s decision that he doesn’t want to commit any more Americans to serve in this war.  It doesn’t seem like we have a clear objective in maintaining a presence in Afghanistan and considering that we have had troops present there for twenty plus years, it seems difficult to argue that we should remain.

                In a recent Newsletter from Heather Cox Richardson (which by the way if you are not signed up for her daily Newsletter, I highly recommend doing so) her news sources revealed that people had been encouraged to leave earlier, but some didn’t want to as they were hoping that the army would take a stand against the Taliban.

                By evening I found I was feeling the onset of a tension headache, and fortunately, I had an online yoga class that evening.  The instructor asked us as she always does if there were any areas that we wanted to specifically work on.  We did some stretching and movement poses, but the majority of our time was spent with her leading us through breathing and mindfulness work in which we focused on limiting how much information we take in.

                While it is important to pay attention to what is going on in the world, at the same time we  have to be able to limit the damage that such news can do to us.

                I discovered another great resource to help stay balanced and in a place of relative peace during these extraordinary stressful times.  My classes are working with David Whyte’s essays and writing on the power of Beauty.  We agreed that we would each complete an Artist Date that focused on something that embodied beauty.   We each shared what we chose to focus on, and our sharing bore witness to the wide variety of ways in which beauty can be experienced.

                Some of us discovered that beauty spoke to us in unique ways as we went for walks; others of us experienced it in writing and artistic endeavors.  Reading poetry was heart-opening as was sitting quietly in a park and listening to the surrounding sounds. 

                I read aloud the following portion of Whyte’s article on Beauty, and as I said the words slowly, I felt every ounce of tension drain out of me:

                                “The rested apprehension of what we call beauty, stops our present internal

                                 conversations, and opens something far more nourishing inside us.  It is the

                                invitation to the experience of deep rested nourishment rising out of the ground

                                of what is when we stop the willful herding of people and circumstances

                                around us.   It is the experience of letting the unknown become a new ground

                                for our understanding.”

                In keeping with the theme of this Blog, Still Evolving, I am continually reminded that if we want to continue to grow and evolve, we have to remain nourished as well as hopeful so that we can find the motivation and the energy to continue to notice and respond to opportunities to expand. 

                This recent experience in which I was aware of feeling overwhelmed by such troubling news from parts of our world, I recognized my need to access resources that could help restore me to a calmer, quieter place.  Again, I’m not looking to shut out the world, but I am looking for ways to know when it is time to limit how much I allow myself to take in.  In a more proactive stance, I want ways in which I can balance the horror with positive aspects of our life experience.

                In closing, I want to share the words of Alice Walker on this topic of Beauty; I find them true and encouraging.

Whenever you are creating or appreciating beauty around you, you are restoring your soul.”