What a Beautiful Pile of Dog Shit
They say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I say, sometimes ugly is just ugly.
They also say that when we seek beauty in all things, we not only find it…we become it.
(They are really smart, aren’t they?)
But seriously…all things? Can we really find beauty in ALL things? How far does this go? Are we talking aesthetic beauty? Spiritual? Innate?
Is this just a metaphor to remind us that how we perceive the world is a choice? That our world can change with a small shift in perspective.
Or is there really beauty in all things?
I suppose this introduction could spawn a great many philosophical discussions, but school has been cancelled, and I’ve only got a few moments with you this morning. So I’ve decided to challenge myself…to find the beauty in all things. And right now, I’m going to prove it.
Behold, a steaming hot pile of dog shit. And not the variety produced by that cute little miniature labradoodle down the street. I’m talking about the 3 pound steamer laid down by the retired German Shepherd police dog that your neighbor, Cousin Eddie, rescued last summer.
Not only will it take a snow shovel to get it out of my lawn, but while I’m struggling to carry it to the tree line at the back of my yard, I’ll surely be swarmed by the 6000 dung beetles that have already come to feast. Can I find beauty…there?
Let’s give it our best shot.
I now present, for this grand mental exercise, the 5 most beautiful things about an enormous pile of stinky dog shit.
1. The Process: Think about the incredible process, by which animals (including us) produce feces. I mean, we eat food and our bodies extract the nutrients that we need, and literally discard the stuff that we don’t. Food is broken down by teeth and stomach acids and bacteria that actually live in the intestines. It is broken down, and down and down, while our bodies take what we need…then the ‘leftovers’ are excreted through a careful and coordinated combination of muscular contractions (requiring hundreds of pounds of pressure) and gas-provided pressure. A complicated, and beautiful process. Wow.
2. The Smell: Because feces can make some species very sick, if touched or consumed (stick with me), many animals have an aversion to the smells produced by the sulfur compounds that arise from ‘waste’. A natural, built in deterrent system. Beautiful.
3. The Energy: Despite the process by which bodies extract nutrients, and in fact energy, from food…before eliminating the rest, there is still some energy left in that fantastic pile of poo.
I’m going to ignore the fact that that energy is often utilized, by being consumed by some animals (those without the aversion to smell), because that is something in which I simply cannot find beauty. Sorry, not sorry.
Instead, I’m going to focus on the fact that the remaining energy in old Charlie’s pleasant pile, will return to the earth, enrich the soil, and provide life-giving energy to organisms participating in our beautiful ecosystem.
4. The Fuel: Did you know that feces can be dried and burned as a fuel source? Marshmallows anyone?
5. The Utility: Did you know that there is such thing as a fecal transplant in the medical world, or that dried poo has often served as a valuable construction material throughout history?
There, I’ve done it. I’ve found the beauty in a pile of dog shit.
I can appreciate the beauty in all things, and therefore, find it…and become it.
My day is changed, and in fact, my life.
So why do I feel like taking another shower?
