Beauty in the Fly-Over Places

Rich Mullins, probably my favorite singer/songwriter ever (RIP), once sang, "There's so much beauty around us, for just two eyes to see. But everywhere I go... I'm looking." I often think of that line. Have you ever thought about the beauty around you? Whether you live in a city, or the country, on an island or in the mountains, or even on the prairies, there is so much beauty around us.

I grew up in Illinois, in the (at the time) second largest city in the state. Now I live on an island in the Canadian Maritimes, the smallest province in Canada. I often take pictures and post them on social media, because I believe this world needs a little more beauty to counteract the ugliness. I get so many comments about my life on my little island- how beautiful it is in all seasons (and it is!). But today, as I walked through a restored prairie, near a river, I marvelled at the way the sun reflected off of the green leaves and off of the water. It's a scene I would not have found as beautiful in my youth.

Growing up in the Midwest, I think we get used to feeling inferior to the coasts. We don't have beaches, other than along a lake or river. We don't have mountains to climb. We do have lots and lots of land, and you can pretty much see forever. But, we focus on what we don't have, and we start to believe that it truly is "fly-over country", that it has little to offer to the much sexier big cities of the east and west. We start to believe the lie that there isn't much to see but corn and beans.

As I grow older, and perhaps because I've lived away for many years, I can now see the beauty that exists in this "fly-over" place. The way the birds sing, how the grasses are so tall you can't see over them. It is said that way back when, in order to see over the prairie grass, one had to stand on the back of one's horse- it was that tall. The colours of the wild flowers form the most beautiful bouquet, no one needs to arrange them. There is life in this place. The dirt is so fertile, you can grow pretty much anything. Because you can see forever, you always know where the rivers, streams, and other bodies of water are- it's where all the trees grow! 

There is a trail in PEI that I love, and the reason I love it is because it reminds me of walking near the Kishwaukee River in Illinois. It's a little taste of home on my little island. It's not an easy trail to find, but once you do, you can walk for a few miles along a river bank, and it seems you're in a different world.

Today, walking along the river, I thought about the beauty around us. How a dandelion pushes up through a crack in the sidewalk, how the birds sing every morning, how the sun reflects off of a building, or a tree. We do have so much beauty around us- I hope we never lose the eyes to see it.