Deadly Glory.

Look at these pictures. I know it's obvious, but both the flower and the frogs are poisonous. They could both kill a human. For these two things, poison is a defense mechanism. I don't pretend to know how it works, but I do know that the frogs use poison to kill their prey, and a poisonous flower means that it isn't going to become someone's prey.

But they're beautiful aren't they?

I was walking up Potter's Bank the other day, and I was feeling a little grumbly because I realised part way home that I was headed for Tim's so it would have actually been quicker to have gone the other way. But as I reached that field that comes down from Aidan's I was so stunned by what I saw that I had to stop.

The sun was setting and orange and purple flashes filled the sky. The clouds were a deep blue and made such joyful patterns over the wash of colour behind. I was awe-stricken. And suddenly thankful that I'd come the long way round. It was like the whole sky was singing with life. I'm not sure I can think of any more cliched metaphors but you get the idea.

I got to thinking about beauty after that. I think beauty has a cycle to it. Maybe something like the genius vs insane spectrum: sometimes, at the extremes it's difficult to draw the line and two things that normally seems polar opposites become blurred together and it's difficult to know what is what. I think that the cycle of beauty goes from pure beauty round to deadly glory. And sometimes it's very hard to separate the two.

What about things that are 'beautiful' in our lives, things that we do, see, live etc. Where is the line between pure beauty and deadly glory? Where do we cross over from innocence to danger? I'm speaking in general terms, not referring to anything in particular, but do you know what I'm trying to say?

Beauty is one of my favourite things in the world. I love true beauty. And by that I don't just mean what is pretty to look at, or what is enjoyable to do. I mean a real depth of exhilirating and painful beauty. But sometimes I think that beauty becomes intoxicating, in a bad way because it becomes too intense. And that's where you end up with a deadly glory rather than a pure beauty.

Anyway. Those are my rambling thoughts for today.