I stopped riding my bike to check out a sloth I saw lounging against a
tan concrete trash can next to the San Gabriel River bike path.
The sloth wasn't being lazy. She was relaxing, after picking up trash
on the riverbed. She asked me why I felt the need to zoom along the river, when
there is so much beauty to see.
"Testosterone poisoning is to blame," I said. "And it
is the American way. Because time flies, and everything runs in America."
She released a long, slow sigh. "You and your Americans are
missing the point of life. Being beautiful is what's important."
She put her hands behind her head, waiting for me to respond.
"Being beautiful? There is a whole industry racing to sell us
beauty products, clothing, cars, houses, and more" I said.
She inhaled, letting her eyes shut. She took her time before opening
them again.
"That is not beauty. That is the distorting of what is already
beautiful. Why do you paint your already beautiful faces? Why do you cover your
beautiful bodies with clothes when it's too hot to wear anything?"
"Do you think we should run around nude?" I asked.
"Absolutely not. No need to run. Walk slowly, without the silly
decorations
You call clothes. Just be nude, the way the Creator made
you.
You do realize that the Creator only made beauty, don’t you?
Everything is beautiful just the way it is. There is no improving on
perfection."
"We aren't perfect," I protested.
"Oh, but you are. To believe otherwise is to say the Creator
is flawed. Is that what you believe?"
I had no idea that sloths were this philosophical. Since they are not
in a hurry, I suppose they have time to think. Her comments and questions
were making me think.
"Are you telling me that I'm beautiful?" I asked.
"Of course, you are. Why would you think otherwise? Didn't your
mother ooh and awe over your beauty when you were born? Without decorations?
Completely and beautifully nude?"
How could I argue with this wise sloth?
I trust that this sloth story will bring a smile to your beautiful
face and remind you that being beautiful is the point of life.
