vegetable lights.

before i mention the bridge i want to tell you about the vegetable market. the other day Ben and I were walking home from the bus stop. and well, we were later than usual and the sun has been setting earlier - and i just never thought about what that means for the street vendors. i assumed they went home if they weren't in a lit area or there were no street lights. But to my suprise and aesthetic delight, they don't close shop, they light a candle and place the candle in the middle of their blanket, layered with vegetables and spices. as we were walking down the street - i was overwhelmed with the urban romance, the beauty of the candlelight lining the sidewalks at dusk.

so, here's a photo and sure it's not quality because i don't know much about shutter speed or perspective. it's the idea behind the photo that is beautiful to me. so, each candle represents a different vendor. and well, the tragic implication of this idea is that the people have to keep working around the clock. this whole idea sheds light onto the life of the poor and how they never really get "a break" and even if they do work all day they still struggle to make ends meet. but i guess the beauty of it is, that they did light the candles and that maybe they sit a little closer on the sidewalk because of the cold. and well, if they had remained in the village they may never have had new neighbors to get to know and their children would have never had the opportunity to go to the government schools in the city. and maybe the energy of the streets inspires them, they know that they are not alone.

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so, there's this pedestrian bridge in a busy part of town. and i was crossing it the other day as pedestrians do and looked out and i had to stop in my tracks to take in the view in front of me - its scenery and its implications. there is this pristine little lake with a white temple on an island in the middle of the "holy" water. the lake takes up about a city block and is completely fenced off, which means it is not littered with trash and the surrounding greenery is in fact decently maintained. and well, the view from this bridge is so incredible mainly because of the contrast between the solemnity of the lake and the chaos of the streets around it, the stillness of the water and the noise of the passing traffic. at first i thought it was ridiculous to fence off one of the few green areas of town. but now i see that it has to be this way, not just to keep the people out or the trash out, but because the one can have no meaning without the other.

beauty in this sense is diversity in unity. it's unified because the lake makes up a complete city block, it "fits" within the system, yet it is so unique, so different than its surroundings. the view reconciles the city and the pastoral, the quiet and the chaos, creating this deep, easily over-lookable dynamic beauty. i am always looking for meaningful wholes in the world around me. wholeness means diversity - there is something so graceful about these ideas/experiences/works of art that always draw me. kind of like the life of Jesus - he was a king but he came to serve, he was God but he always refered to himself as "the Son of man." God's very identity as a triune God is complete diversity of parts in unity; existing, working in harmony.

so, yes, beauty is all around us. take that National Geographic. i submit that there is no where in the world that we should not visit because the facilities may have been run down. i think there is always something new and beautiful to experience and learn.

oh, right and if this topic interests you, please read this article from the Cry by Joel Klepac, titled, "Beauty and Redemption: Arti in Community Among the Poor." - super brilliant and inspiring! -- www.wordmadeflesh.org/learn/issues3.html