[Reik Mohican]

Synopsis: A brief essay inspired by a brief sit in the woods



In every living thing on the planet, there is an undesirable side that is rarely seen. Things that are unwanted are hidden or destroyed. The parts of life that are beautiful are highlighted by frames and put in prominent places, but you will never see a photograph of a dead rabbit hanging from a wall. At first, it appears to be only humans that practice this glorification of all things beautiful, but that is not the case. Nature itself chooses to appeal to our perception of beauty.

In the heart of the woods there is beauty all around you. But if you look close enough, you see that mixed in with the flowers and bright green leaves is an ugly brown mud. The forest hides the mud as best it can, covering it with leaves. It even attempts to wash it away with flowing streams, but in the thin line between the leaves and the stream, mud remains in view, slightly obstructed by the morning frost, and it ambushes our eyes as we look upon the water. The water, in an attempt to distract us from the ugly mud it has worked so hard to destroy, puts on a façade of beauty. It borrows the appealing shades of green from the trees and the bright blue from the sky to entrance all who look upon it.

But even as the forest strives to hide the mud, it depends upon it for its power. The trees grow strong and tall because of its nutrients, and the animals burrow into it so it will protect them. The plants and animals take from, but do not give back to, the mud. They take it for granted and continue blooming and burrowing while the mud lies hidden beneath the leaves and water.

As with all things however, the plants and animals do not stay beautiful forever. They die and the forest quickly sweeps them into corners. The trees drop the ugly brown leaves from their branches and the animals are buried beneath them. Nature itself seems to abandon its once beautiful inhabitants, and so they slip into hidden places along with the mud, allying with it and becoming the ugly brown shade that they themselves relied on.

And so it is with all life. The roots of our society lie in the mud of the underappreciated workers. We worship the beautiful actor that reads the lines but do not see the person who wrote them. The painting is hung on our wall, but we do not hang a picture of the artist. The nature of all things is prejudiced and judgmental, but with free will we are given the choice to search for the beauty that nature hides so well.