Beauty Is In The Eye Of The Beholder

As I’ve mentioned a few times previously, taking pictures is one of my very favorite things to do when I’m traveling. I was fortunate enough to have a bunch of hours during our trip to Merida, Mexico last week to walk around and do just that.

Like most people, I’m attracted to bright colors. That’s one of the things I liked most about this trip: there is no shortage of color in Mexico! The bold hues that are used on so many of the buildings there are refreshing and incredibly fun to discover.

Merida Mexico

I often found myself in a state of wonder at the beauty and the resulting happiness I felt as a result of seeing those colors. Here in the United States we usually reserve the boldest, brightest colors for children’s museums or tourist attractions and keep the color of our homes and office buildings more muted and pastel.

Color wasn’t the only stand-out to me in Merida; intricate carvings and other kinds of ornate embellishments were everywhere.

Merida Mexico

In many cases, the color and design kept me from paying attention to the fact that so many of the buildings were incredibly old and in disrepair. Many were dirty, crumbling, and peeling, but here’s something interesting: instead of taking away from the beauty, those things provided “character”. I mean, look at the Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza, which are on the “New Seven Wonders of the World” list. They are incredibly old (dating from 750-900 AD) and they’re falling apart in places (ahem, “ruins”) but can you deny their beauty? I think not.

Mayan Ruins Chichen Itza

I wondered if I could come home and look at things in the same way, looking for the beauty that appears when the other stuff is set aside. Definitely something to work on.

Merida Mexico

Next time I go to Merida I hope to stay a couple of days longer and bring a zoom lens so I can capture even more of the fine details I fell in love with. (I also hope to bring an ice suit to wear around town because OMG, holy heat and humidity!) In the meantime, I’m going to focus on the beauty I can find right in my own neighborhood.

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