Mixture Meditation

A retired friend took this photo on one of many Winnebago trips with his wife. The scene, a mixture of fertility and barrenness, perhaps suggests the way life can be - a mixture positive and negative elements. After meditating on this aspect of our shared human experience, what i wrote in my prayer journal appears below. I wonder what your perception might be regarding life's mix of beauty and ugliness, of good and evil.

it is not enough to meditate on beauty

for there is ugliness in the mix

or behind the scenes

turn over the portrait of a flower art crafted

of colored string and thread and ribbon

and you will see chaotic knots and random criss-crossings

visit the neatly dressed and well-mannered family

who fit perfectly on a magazine cover

in the home at secret times where and when

there is domestic violence or child abuse

learn to look through a person's eyes

into the truth harboring soul

and be not distracted by smile or charming words

so as to recognize evil for what it is

not every place in the world is safe

from invasion, kidnapping, torture and careless death

trust people who have seen the worst

and still give witness to the best

they are sparks of life in the divine fire

in a society of packaging for promotion

angling for advantage and snaring for sales

there are instances both of service and of greed

there are examples of real ministry and abusive power

there are champions of generous giving and of greedy taking

both beauty and ugliness are in the mix

in which wisdom perceives behind the scenes

and knows that meditation itself is not enough

Our prayer might begin as does Psalm 43:

Defend me, O God, and plead my cause against a godless nation.

From deceitful and cunning men rescue me, O God.