Kylie's Butterfly

There is a Japanese idea, Mono No Aware, that encapsulates the feeling of this piece. It’s a kind of pathos or sadness at the fleeting nature of life as seen in beauty... the knowledge that a beautiful moment will soon pass, a flower will die, as will our loved ones. Instead of lapsing into melancholy, however, this feeling should heighten the appreciation we have for beauty, kindness, etc. In these moments we feel the hope we have in salvation and the promise of heaven. Our suffering will be wiped away.

The image came from a picture my wife took in Alpine, Texas. It was overrun with Monarch butterflies. My daughter picked up one that was dying... it was an incredibly sweet and sad moment — she was both drawn to its incredible, bejeweled beauty and hurt that it was at the end of its life. I paired it with an impending storm to undergird the urgency of faith in a fleeting life.