Why All This Glitter In Our World

COBWEBS DANGLING on branches and dripping with moisture came to life during my walk in Crescent Beach recently.

When rays from the sun pierced through the morning mist dewdrops brightened suddenly like diamonds.

But when I came home and saw the pictures that I took ...

the images looked pale in comparison and I wondered why I had been so charmed by the real thing earlier.

As the world turns so does the turmoil in it. Amid the chaos a bit of sparkle can feel like an unexpected gift and suggest something wonderful can happen despite our problems.

They say imitation is a form of flattery. We honour these manifestations of nature by trying to duplicate them, whether by sewing sequins onto dresses or dabbing glitter on festive dolls or greeting cards. I like to put glitter on my handcrafted Penelope cards.

I saw lots of glitz on the Christmas ornaments displayed at a store I visited later. The decorations reminded me of the Crescent Beach scenes.

Why are so many of us drawn to sequins and glass baubles? Are we on a quest to grasp an ethereal spark or is something else going on? In search of clues I stumbled on interesting genetic explanations in an essay by Casey.

We bring faux snow into the comforts of home ... glad not to feel the genuine cold in our staged wonderlands. This is the season when city streets also overflow with shimmering objects.

I think most people in the "wet coast" find themselves thrust into a dream world of glitter during the lit-up holidays. It is as cheering as the sun breaking through the veil of fog that lingers in coastal BC from autumn to winter.

As elating as such sights can be perception is no doubt the key to how profoundly we experience these moments and how faint a spark is needed to light up the imagination. Perhaps it is the way Anais Nin described when she said: "We don't see things as they are; we see them as we are."

Although I have always liked the mysterious gray, for a time the twinkling elements of nature, both real and artificial, conspired to carry me away like a fairytale princess from the gloom of the day.

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Copyright by Penelope Puddlisms

Illusive Rainbows That Don't Get Caught

IMAGINE A PERFECTLY FORMED ARCHWAY over the water in translucent colors sparkling like fairy dust. The sweetest rainbow I have ever seen at Crescent Beach glowed over the horizon putting on a show that lasted only a few minutes. It was a compelling gate to another dimension and I wished I could fly right through it. But instead of enjoying the moment I was crushed by the realization that I had rushed out the door without a camera in my pocket.

My attempts to duplicate the rainbow with an art's program and add it to the picture I took of the same area the next day produced mediocre results. I lamented this missed opportunity to grasp the original with a photograph.

Doesn't something similar happen to everyone? Sometimes something precious slips through our fingers that is far more significant and painfully felt than a pretty act of nature that doesn't get captured but is locked in our thoughts. We work through it with art, words, tears and anger sometimes until we come to accept that something was lost. There will never be a rainbow quite like the one that got away but others will get caught.

To see more sights from around the globe, check out the link at the sidebar and visit Our World.

Visit Postcards From Penelope Puddle to view more BC scenes.

Copyright by Penelope Puddlisms