Is a sunset on a moon of Saturn beautiful even if no one is there to see it? I propose that beauty is not only in the eye of the beholder; it is the intrinsic value of something just for being. Therefore, everything is beautiful.
A deeper, and socially riskier way to put it is that the creative energy of the universe that is responsible for all of existence is love, and love manifests as beauty. Since everything is made of love, everything is beautiful, regardless of who perceives it or how it is perceived. It’s axiomatic.
Across from me in this cafe, a dad is comforting his newborn baby. I used to wonder where all the new souls came from, as the population of humans ballooned over the last several centuries, especially if a lot of the souls were reincarnated. It occurred to me that souls, or spirit energy, isn’t a limited quantity. There aren’t a set number of souls waiting for bodies to occupy. I picture them more as strands reaching down from a limitless cloud of spirit energy, occupying bodies but still connected to a main source.
In fact, we are part of a living universe. I am expanding the definition of living to include, well, everything — all matter and energy. It’s all alive.
Wait a minute? Aren’t you a punk rocker?
Those who know me personally, especially who knew me many years ago, know me as an activist, absurdist, street theater kind of punk rocker. Then, why are so many of my posts about beauty, love, spirit and the interconnectedness of all things? That doesn’t sound very punk rock. Well, all I can say is that if you were around in the punk days, you may remember that a hallmark of punk philosophy (admittedly lost on many punks) was that there are no rules, no rigid ideology to follow or uniform to wear. We called it “personal anarchy,” where we dismissed many adult conventions of the legacy culture and figured out right and wrong for ourselves. It was a pretty diverse and messy subculture. Maybe I was drawn to it because of the personal freedom it offered. In any case, not only do I not have to stick to one way of being and thinking, but I can change. It’s punk rock.
