Creative Energy - Finding Beauty in an ugly world

I hate starting out on a negative note but living in a suburb of Chicago means you don't have to look too far to find the face of evil. 

The other day a nine year old boy was gunned down in Chicago.  He was playing basketball and died with his ball right next to him.  What monster would do such a thing?  The children in that area are never safe and they have nowhere to turn. 

It made me think of my son when he was nine.  He had a normal childhood, he could walk anywhere at any time, he could ride his bike safely anytime of the day or night.  The police in town know who all the kids are, they know the bad ones and the good ones.  We don't live in paradise there are still a number of crimes committed but for the most part it's as safe as you can get being only a 20 minute ride from the city.  Drugs and violence will always find a victim no matter where you live but those incidences are against the norm in our town, whereas in parts of Chicago it has become a way of life.  I only wish those Chicago neighborhoods could clean themselves up.  Innocent children shouldn't have to die while playing on the street.  I grew up on those streets but they weren't nearly as mean as they are today.

I thank God everyday that we were able to raise our children in a town with very little violence.  We really couldn't afford the homes in the area but found an old fixer upper that did us well over the 10 years we lived in it.  When it was time to look for a new home we almost left town but my daughter begged us to stay because she was only a year away from high school and didn't want to have to make new friends.  We ended up with a small house because we sold at the time the market was high.  We sold high but had to buy high to stay in this town.  Here we are another 11 years later and the kids are grown and about to fly the nest.  Now we are setting our sights on a new area because we don't have to worry about schools and proximity to the city. 

So this morning I decided to look for something that symbolizes beauty.  Something to help spark some creativity in my day.   As soon as I walked out of my door to get in my car she caught my eye.  A lovely little rose blooming for the last time before the cold weather sets in and the plant goes to sleep. 

It was foggy this morning and the sun was just starting to rise so the light was lovely.  I snapped the picture and love the vibrancy of the colors.  I didn't have to alter the picture in anyway.

I've decided that I'm going to try to look for something of beauty every day for the rest of November.