There are two distinct views on the meaning of time. One view is that time is part of the fundamental structure of the universe, a dimension in which events occur in sequence, and time itself is something that can be measured. This is the realist's view, to which Sir Isaac Newton subscribed.
This text above could be in way a definition of time. I believe that time can be directly related to the question “Can anything be beautiful?”
One of my favorite quotes says that:
Yesterday is a History.
Tomorrow a mystery
And today is a gift... that’s why we call it present.
So the best way to answer this question is to set the time to “now”.
Many of you might remember the amazing & innovative trilogy of the 80’s “back to the future.”
In that movie Marty McFly and Dr. Emmet Brown (doc) had traveled through time. They actually decided to move forwards to 2055 if I remember well. When they arrived In the future they realized there were a few bad characteristics in their lives needing change. Although by the end of the 2hour movie they were able to return to the present(mid-eighties) and lay the foundation for the necessary changes, they realized that the insights from this journey were a bit overwhelming and somewhat disappointing.
For an imaginative example of how important the present is, Michael J. Fox and cast give a nice depiction. The present, or living in the now as people like to say, is the only opportunity we will ever have to make something of this very moment. Now that it’s gone, rest assured that another opportunity is coming right NOW.
Since we have established our mania with the Now, in considering the question “Can anything be beautiful?” our answers will change from this.. moment to this.. one. If for example we put the word NOW after the question (Can anything be beautiful+now?) then the answer is definitely a big ugly NO! Everything has a beautiful and ugly side to it. When something’s ugly side is brightly shining through it may have potential to become beautiful, but until it does make that change it will still be ugly. At this very moment a caterpillar may have the potential to become a butterfly but until it does it is only a crawling worm.
Now is where everyone says that “Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder.” My response is that each beholder lives in such a different environment their eyes have been trained to see their version beauty. A fly sees a pile of manure as a treasure hunter sees a mountain of gold. If everything is beautiful now, then this world would be the most boooring place in the universe and the author of this blog would be following Frank to see what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars. The antithesis of what is beautiful and ugly creates the fascination we have with what is happening now; life.
If however speak about seeing the future, and as a destination we are headed to “Anything can be beautiful” then we should be aware that the most beautiful part would be the journey; the journey of making anything beautiful, the metamorphosis of a potentially beautiful vision, idea, thought, event, occurrence…. And Now is your chance to take action and make anything beautiful ;-)
