Bernie Michalik's posterous site

Walking out today, I looked down and saw this leaf covered in raindrops. I
thought how beautiful it was and how I should take a photo of it. Sadly,
this photo doesn't do it justice.

The way we treat many things in the world, including people, doesn't do
them justice, either. It often has nothing to do with meanspiritedness.
More often it is the case that we are not aware of them, or not aware of
the goodness that they possess. Their goodness is wasted in that sense.

Or we lack imagination to see the goodness that is there or how we can
appreciate it. In the physical world, I think the notion of waste indicates
a lack of imagination as to how we think of something. We throw it away and
become unaware of it any more, instead of reusing it or recycling it and
making it new and better.

If waste is a lack of awareness and imagination with regard to appreciating
the value in something or someone, love is the opposite. To love something
is to be aware of and see the value in it and to see good qualities
invisible to others. What may be to others a broken old toy destined for
the trash may be to a child the most valuable thing in the world. In
Citizen Kane, the most valuable object ever possessed by the wealthy Kane
was an old sleigh, long gone.

If you are a Christian, you believe in a god who loves everyone and who
believes in your redemption, regardless of your faults and flaws. And as a
Christian, you should aspire to that ideal yourself, regardless of your own
limitations. You should see the value in everyone, including the least of
your brothers. And you should acknowledge your faults and strive to
overcome them.

While you may not be a Christian, the ideal of seeing the value in everyone
is a worthwhile ideal to strive for. Not everyone has the same value, but
no one is without value. No one is a waste.

Likewise with things. There is nothing wasted, though we think it so. Even
the dead are transformed as they decay into something other than they once
were. The leaves become compost, the windfall of orchards become cider, and
the dead animals that fall through force or through nature feed others.
Others may see things they love with your eyes, and feel your old heart in
their chest quicken at the sight of them. Though much is lost, all can be
transformed, everyone can be redeemed, and nothing need be wasted.

As always, thanks for reading this.
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