The Perspective of Trees

A few weeks ago I threw on some stylin' clothes and headed downtown by myself. Sure, Matt dropped me off on his way to run an errand with the kiddos, and it only lasted twenty minutes but still. It was twenty minutes of pure bliss. I walked around cute shops that I had no idea existed and looked at pretty fair trade jewelry and local art, while sipping on a latte from a non-chain coffee shop. I was, like, the definition of hipster and discovered that my little town has way more character than I realized. Kuddos to myself and Lakeland. I didn't know we had it in us.

I know I wasn't nearly as cool as my twenty minutes in heaven made me feel, but it did allow for some perspective. I've been in a bit of a funk for the past several weeks; it's nothing huge, just that unsettled feeling of grey that can come from trying to wrap your mind around a lot of heavy stuff all at once. Time has to be a part of the processing equation. Learning to live well doesn't happen overnight.

Beauty and lightheartedness add such a necessary dimension to life, often overlooked when needed most. It sounds ridiculous but looking at these small pieces of art almost took my breath away. It's as if I'd forgotten that creativity is part of our make-up; it's innate. We are works of art, made to create, cultivating beauty wherever we are. Beauty speaks in so many different tones that we can fail to recognize it. It's in simple deeds of service and hospitality, good conversations with friends and our children's laughter. There's time for creating works of art simply to add beauty to this world. All of these can be acts of worship. No matter how much our world has been distorted by ugliness, it's not a true picture of how it's supposed to be. Art, no matter the form, is a sign post to something bigger. It awakens the ever present longing for the Giver of all good things; all life is art.

Those minutes gave me a fresh perspective, for a moment. I saw the masterpieces in my littles sitting in the backseat and in the love of the man sitting next to me. I let myself just be for once, not worrying, planning or thinking of anything beyond drinking in the life in front of me. We drove around for quite a while, as we've done a lot lately. We drove down quaint brick streets with big oaks in neighborhoods that are rich with history. It made me long for that connectedness and thankful for all the time ahead to plant our own trees and watch them grow.