Musings on Melancholy, Beauty and Love

This day in age, it is very easy to find causes, and injustice.  Just go online.  turn on the TV.  Listen to the radio.  It is not hard to get yourself into a funk.

We are in an information age where - whether we want it or not- we are bombarded with news and media.  And remember, fluff pieces don't sell.  So we hear and see the worst of it, and more then that, much of it is sooooo skewed that it is not even true to the original story.

Throw in a heated, dirty and maybe the most divided election to date, and its hard to find beauty and peace these days.  I know I am not alone in this feeling.

I took a day on Sunday to go to a high end art show with my mom and daughter.  I needed to get out of the house.  We took the train and watched the landscape change from rural to urban as we approached Philadelphia.  My mom said it always makes her sad to see the city, to see the boarded up windows and graffiti'd walls.  I find an odd beauty in though.  

I don't know, maybe it is the artist in me.  I really believe everyone has some sort of creative gift.  Whether it be words and stories, giving, kindness, art, dance, teaching- everything can be an art form when you put your heart into it.  And I realized, that, my ability to see this is a gift.  Because even on days when things feel hopeless or overwhelming, even when the only art and beauty I see is graffiti on a wall in a broken desolate part of town, I see it.  I see the expression of a PERSON sharing who they are.  And I see the beauty in broken decaying things both man made and in nature.  A life gone by, a past and a new beginning.

I also know not everyone can see those things so easily.

It was also wonderful to see Julia, my 12 year old daughter, and her amazement at the beauty of the city.  

She loved the train, and was overwhelmed at the sheer size of the convention center.

 Just look at that smile!

she took this picture, she loved how it all went up and up and up

Anyhow, we have to try to find the good in the sea of awful being thrown at us daily.  I will try to continue to find beauty in all things.  In all places, and in all people.  I know many families are very divided over this election, and already strained relations are even more difficult when the party choices are different from one another.

There is definitely a melancholy in our society right now.  There is a lot of unhappiness.  People want change.  People are sad about others reactions to the election.......  There is just so much on all sides.  

I saw this video this morning on Facebook, and for some reason, it really touched me deeply.  I can't find it on you tube to embed it, but it is a group of men, I believe called Supermarket Sweet, who randomly pay for other peoples groceries. I saw the people who were helped, genuinely desire to do something nice for someone else.  It's a glimmer of hope.  It was beautiful.

It doesn't have to be something big like paying for a whole grocery order, but try to do something nice for someone today.  Hold a door for someone, tell them their hair looks nice, or tell a tired mom her kids are well behaved in the store (you will not believe how far that one goes!!!)- or better yet, tell a mom with NOT well behaved kids she is doing a great job and kids will be kids (because some days, no matter how good a mom you are, kids have mental breakdowns).  Smile at the guy in the business suit who looks way too busy to notice.  Make a conversation in the produce aisle about how great the oranges look.  

Connect with someone.  Anyone.  You will feel better and so will they.

And as we move forward and try to get along again as friends, families and a nation, we may have to accept we don't understand each other fully, and that is ok.  And most of all, we have to know that love is more important then being right.  
We can't let ourselves become part of the hate and anger.

And sometimes, we have to take the high road, and love anyway.  

"I love you anyway" has gotten me far in this life.  And it doesn't always come easy, and it doesn't always come quick.  But it comes, because it has to.  Because I would rather love someone then be alone stewing in my own words and thoughts.  "I love you anyway" is the path to forgiveness, acceptance and connection.

Karen McGovern did a post the other day, with Leonard Cohen's lyrics from Anthem and this photo.  This sculpture has always resonated with me.  It is so profound and powerful.  So I leave you with this.  Remember, we are all broken and cracked.

"There is a crack, a crack in everything

That's how the light gets in." - Leonard Cohen

Expansion by Paige Bradley, New York, USA

Please please please do NOT use this as a forum to complain about the election, the results or anything else.  These are just my musings, and I hope perhaps, sharing them will resonate with someone who may be feeling the same way, or struggling with the same thing.