Beauty is a powerful tool, especially in the age of extreme politics.
One of my favorite books is Joan Kron’s Home Psych. Every page is a gem on the juxtaposition between decorating and all other aspects of life. She shares her experiences as a decorating writer who often finds herself in a defensive position with those who write about more “serious” life topics. Kron recounts the sarcastic jab a New York Times “home” reporter took from a “hard news” editor during the 1977 massive blackout: “How is the Home Section going to cover the blackout? Do a story about decorating with candles?” A similar putdown Kron recalls is the tongue lashing by Gloria Emerson, a Vietnam war correspondent. She chastised women for reading the frivolous style sections before the front page. Kron noted these examples were part of a widespread bias against decorating and style when “hunger, crime, unemployment and the bomb,” among other things, should have gotten more attention.
Kron’s words stayed with me. I was always decorating the schools in which I worked. In the 90s, I remember being reprimanded by the union chairperson for decorating a few bulletin boards to prepare for some important visitors. “How could you do this?” she asked in an agitated voice. According to her thinking, my beautification should be done only after all the “serious” items were addressed, and my actions proposed overcrowding, violence, lack of supplies, and other problems had disappeared. The chairperson suggested that not only would my intent be conveyed to the visitors, but also that on some level I had betrayed the union cause.
Though I never stopped in my decorating efforts, I always, always wondered, “Did they give the wrong message? Was I dealing with the frivolous?”
And then came the 2016 election. (For the record, my side lost.) How, I thought, could I write about beauty when all marginalized people are being attacked and civil rights are being threatened, along with being on the verge of a nuclear war based on Twitter? How could I decorate my home when thousands of refugees were losing theirs every day?
I am past the age for the three-mile protest marches but the political and cultural situation keeps my attention 24/7. Searching for answers, I spent a year donating, discussing, reading, volunteering, ruminating and watching the pundits. Thus, to some extent, I bought into the message of my union leader. Maybe it didn’t make sense to concentrate on writing a book on decorating.
Although some people couldn’t tolerate the tension anymore and just gave up on the news, I couldn’t put my head in the sand. On the other hand, after a year of too much reality, I really began to suffer. I was falling apart, and I knew I had to regain my center.
Beauty is Powerful
The solution actually came to me by accident. We lost our TV reception in a bad rainstorm, and all that was left to watch were some old shows on the DVR. First we found a cooking show contest where people competed to make elegant ganache filled chocolate tortes. Then we found an old Nova that displayed Hubble telescope photos. Our sighs and exclamations of pleasure abounded. Our shoulders relaxed. It was in that moment I realized, when in times of difficulty, we can turn to beauty because of the strength it gives us.
I believe we have to live in both worlds, one connected to activism and the other to embracing what others might judge as superficial. The New York Times reporter was wrong because we must decorate with candles in a blackout.
It is like the metaphor of the oxygen masks dropping down in a plane. We are always warned to mask ourselves first before helping another. To do the opposite endangers all.
Embracing beauty allows us to take care of ourselves and therefore is a powerful act that allows us to function. In order to save the world, we must first take care of our souls.
***
There are two parts to this website, The Lessons, which are more difficult in concept, and the blogs, which are lighter in nature.
A lesson that relates to this blog is:
Good DesignEnergizes our Lives
A blog with a similar theme is:
Please note that my website allows you to leave comments at the end of the blogs but not at the end of each lesson. If you have a comment or question about a lesson, you may email me at ruta@rutas-rules.com
Karen Miller says
Thank you for an extraordinary article. You articulate the needs of the whole person, rather than belittling one (seeking the Beautiful) in favor of another (fighting for the Good). I agree that it’s necessary to engage in the brokenness of our world while nurturing ourselves and not by swaddling ourselves, or others, with accusations of guilt and “selfishness”. It is not by turning away from things but by turning towards them that we get to embrace both. And PS: What great candles!