Have you ever found beauty in something that someone else thought of
as less than beautiful?
To many—including the Yankee—this modest, nondescript, little well-house, situated
in a remote corner of our front yard, is anything but beautiful. Yet, from the
moment I laid eyes on it, I thought it to be quite charming.
in a remote corner of our front yard, is anything but beautiful. Yet, from the
moment I laid eyes on it, I thought it to be quite charming.
It was midsummer, the year we located our small farm with its tiny, quaint
cottage—affectionately called the Brambleberry Cottage.
I instantly fell in love with this simple, bucolic structure—its bright white architecture
contrasting sharply with the deep greens of the lush environment surrounding it.
cottage—affectionately called the Brambleberry Cottage.
I instantly fell in love with this simple, bucolic structure—its bright white architecture
contrasting sharply with the deep greens of the lush environment surrounding it.
It was fall of that same year, when we purchased the property, and, by that time,
the landscape had begun to cloak itself in the various hues of the season.
Perhaps it was because it was my favorite time of year that when I spied the well-house,
enveloped by a kaleidoscope of fall color, I became even more
enamored with it.
enveloped by a kaleidoscope of fall color, I became even more
enamored with it.
Even as the last of the gorgeous, multihued leaves cascaded from the trees, and
the scenery filled more with gray fog than fall-fanfare, my enthusiasm for this charming,
little structure did not wane.
Although I had witnessed its beauty in a wide array of conditions, all paled
in comparison to the dramatic display of its snowy winter covering.
As I have observed the little well-house through every distinct season, year after year,
it has become apparent that its surroundings have only served to enhance
the simple beauty I find inherent to the structure itself.
it has become apparent that its surroundings have only served to enhance
the simple beauty I find inherent to the structure itself.
The Scottish philosopher, David Hume, expressed the sentiment this way,
"Beauty in things exists merely in the mind which contemplates them."
"Beauty in things exists merely in the mind which contemplates them."
Indeed, it is true.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!
