Cold Thought

There are a lot of reasons I come to Greenbelt. Ignoring the "it's what I always do" one which might suggest something of a rut, I meet with friends, I get to do something very different to my every day, I get challenges that push me beyond my comfort zone. I also get a chance to reflect, to think. About myself, about humanity. Sometimes those reflections are happier than at other times.
This year there is an ice sculpture sitting out on the grass. It is a cube about three foot by three foot by six foot. Inside it are crosses, rossaries, a model of Jesus. It was beautiful, not so much because of how it looked but because of the thought behind it - that over the weekend it would gradually melt and these items would be released. The ice was clear and it shone. When I came across it last night my heart lifted.
But humans are a destructive species. We are yet to learn our lessons, and maybe never will. By this morning this cube tells a different story. Instead of the elements doing their work, and maybe a warm hand making a fleeting impression which will vanish as the surrounding ice melts, the cube has been attacked. The column on the top has been broken off. People are chipping away at the ice to get at the buried treasure. The ice is no longer crystal clear, it is now fractured, stress limes running through it. Instead of smooth molten surfaces there are jagged edges and holes.
Maybe it has turned into more of an analogy than it's makers ever dreamed off. It tells the story of how we let greed blind us to beauty, and how our desire for personal gain means that we deny others the chance to see something that can touch their soul.