Beauty on the Screen: When a Snake Became a Flower

A Surprise on the Trail

On a bright afternoon walk, I admired a small brown snake stretched across the path. Its body was a ribbon of earth with silken stripes, muted glimmers, and patterns written in scales. To me, it was breathtaking. I took a picture, the way one does when moved by beauty.

A Surprise on the Screen

Later, on a family video call, I shared it with my loved ones.

“Look at this!” I said, delighted.

They leaned in, expecting a flower, a bird, or a tree in late summer bloom. Instead, a snake filled their screens.

Screams. Gasps. “Nina, what is that?!”

I was laughing so hard I cried.

What I saw as earthy elegance, they saw as something creepy, even grotesque. We were all surprised—just in opposite directions.

The Lesson in the Laughter

That little brown snake became a reminder that beauty is not one thing. It is not always soft or expected. Sometimes, beauty arrives coiled, scaled, and startling. Sometimes, it is received with awe, sometimes with fear, and sometimes with both.

The snake did not care about any of this, of course. It only crossed the trail, living its life. Yet it carried with it a lesson about perspective about how quickly expectation can shape what we see, and how laughter can bridge the space in between.

Reflection Questions

Think of a time when beauty surprised you.

• Did you recognize it immediately, or did it take time to see it?

• How did others around you respond?

• What does that moment reveal about the way you meet the unexpected?