I don’t think we need to be taught to see natural beauty. We know. I’ve seen dogs and cats transfixed at the sparkle of the sun on snow. I’ve seen deer tracks, fresh every morning, on the rise above my home best suited to watching the sunrise. We seem to need in our culture to be given permission to see and acknowledge beauty. We are subtly disapproved of in the Western world for taking a moment to smell the roses, or, worse yet, attempting to share that magic moment.
Our kids deserve better. No matter how rich or poor we are the sunset is ours. The sparkle of the frost on the brown grass, the lace like patterns of branches against the blue sky, the colors of the sea, the waving tendrils of a sea anenome, the sweet smell of wood smoke are all a natural part of our day here in Maine. More important than teaching our kids to appreciate “fine art” we need to give them permission to appreciate the world around them.
Their world, and ours, will be better for it.
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