RED ONIONS Transformed by Beauty

Alanda Greene discovers beauty in unexpected places and learns an important lesson in the process.

- Alanda Greene

I was at the compost edge with two freshly picked red onions, washing dirt from their skins. At the time, my mind was wrangling with unpleasant thoughts, feeling wronged in a particular situation, reviewing how I was wronged. Not sure to whom I was stating my case. Not the red onions.

As I peeled back the outer layer of one, the sun caught its redness, lit it up like a ruby, and I gasped at the startling beauty of it. Thoughts stilled, and the red glow absorbed my being in gratitude and awe.

Suddenly I felt silly for what now seemed a petty absorption. Here I was surrounded in beauty, yet not receptive to it, letting myself be mired in thoughts not about now, not helpful, and an obstacle to being present.

A moment of grace took me out of that state and showed another possibility, showed yet again that the choice I make with my thoughts makes all the difference in my world. I had been grumbly and dark and, suddenly, transformed by beauty.

I would like to say that this insight transformed my mental behavior and ever after I desisted from irritable thoughts, instead seeking to find beauty and be moved by it. But this is not the case. Red onions have, however, continued to be a teacher in this area.