There's beauty everywhere - just look closely

MY THOUGHTS this week have been blighted by the ugliness of imperialism, war mongering, genocide, and racism.

- ASHLEY GREEN-THOMPSON

This ugliness is etched indelibly in the souls and faces of those old men who have stoked the recent frenzy of bombs and machismo.

These old men who lay claim to authority from their gods and who send bombs to fall on innocent people have made the world an uglier place, less secure, less caring, more desperate.

I’ve been actively resisting the descent into hopelessness at the impunity with which they violate not just the law, but the very essence of human decency and coexistence.

This hasn’t been an easy task, and even the gentlest of people I know have struggled to resist the urge to retaliate and avenge.

Instead I have found refuge in letting my thoughts search for the beauty in our world, and I’ve been daydreaming about the beautiful things my life allows me to experience.

My grandson is beauty itself, proof that god has rewarded us for not killing our kids. In my garden there's a solitary clivia - the only one amidst the many - that blooms every year around this time.