DEFORMED

I came across a tortured, twisted pine tree some years ago, high on a ridge—an ugly, misshapen thing at first glance. But I looked again and saw something deeper and better and thought of those whose deformities are overwhelmed by rare beauty.

Appearance is overrated, a mere sensation in the eyes (or brain) produced by shape, color and motion and conditioned a good deal by society and association. (In some cultures, foot-long ear lobes and distended lips are thought to be the essence of loveliness.)

A philosopher–friend of mine once pointed out to me that objects cannot be beautiful in themselves for they’re only arrangements of colorless, shapeless, invisible atoms. We can’t see them, but if we could, they would bring us no delight or satisfaction.