What is Beauty? - Day at the Arboretum

I love nature. There is nothing like a beautiful array of plants. No orchestra can compare to the singing of birds and the sound of water from a stream or waterfall. So, naturally, I ended up at LA's Arboretum.

My family and I were greeted by peacocks everywhere! I was so excited. I looked over the map, planning out our excursion carefully so as not to miss anything. My family decided that we should eat lunch first. Soon after they ate, a debate began. This was normal among my husband's family, but this time I could have died. Don't they know where we are at? Taking me to the Arboretum was comparable to taking a five-year-old child for the first time to Disneyland. Since I am in my late twenties, I wouldn't be justified in throwing a tantrum. So I sat for a moment smiling, then wandered around the restaurant take pictures of the peacocks running through our lunch area.

Finally, my hero! My husband's grandmother had enough of the conversation and began walking to an area that she wanted to see. I followed close by. Where were we going? To the tropical greenhouse and orchids? To the Asian plants? We were about to be awed and amazed!! We ended up in... the water conservation garden. In other words, cactuses and weeds. She explaind in detail all the plants that were sitting there. Some she even had in her own garden. I was not impressed. Why would you plant a weed in your garden? And why, of all the plants to look at, would you want to come to this area?

She must have seen the apparent look of dissatisfaction because she chose to explain the plants to me in even more detail. I thought, "If I run into a cactus, that would be something to write home about." But, I talked myself down and decided to just enjoy the time with her. After a few minutes of my weed lesson, I started to see what she was seeing. She pick up the flowers and pointed out the little intricate details. She made me smell them - even had me taste some of them.* And I quickly realized how amazing those plants were. I've walked by similar plants many times while camping or hiking. To me, they were nothing, but plants used to take up space. What caught my eye were the big beautiful plants that demanded attention, like the Magnolia trees or the Giant Sequoias. But, the so called "weeds" I was currently staring at had a beauty of their own. No, their beauty wasn't as apparent as most of the other plants at the Arboretum, but that's what made them exciting. I had to search for it. Stepping out of my definition of beauty and opening my mind helped me see a new world of attractiveness. The beauty in nature is everywhere. And when I enjoy where I'm at, I'm at ease.


*Please do not eat plants unless you know that they are edible.