Magic

I believe in magic.

Today, I walked past the ocean and ventured into the woods. The earth was damp from the tears Mother Nature shed the night before, leaving behind a sodden pathway and the most invigorating scent. And as I walked, I noticed the raindrops hanging off the withered leaves and bare branches. They sparkled in the sunshine, reminding me of the white lights we adorn our trees with, and I stopped to take notice.

It's easy not to notice. Easy to keep walking. Have headphones in and our eyes on our shoes. It's easy to pass the magic right on by.

No one has to tell winter to come. No one has to tell the season to change. The cycle continues no matter what. It turns and the warmth leaves as the cold rushes in. The year goes by. Leaves fall, only to grow again when spring returns.

This is magic.

To smell a new day. To hear the birds playing in the underbrush. To see the life of fungi poking up among the decay of Fall and to hold leaves bigger than our heads in our hands. To exist and be a part of something out of our control, something that will continue no matter what we do or say.

Magic is all around me.

I Carry Your Heart

I carry your heart with me(i carry it in - e. e. cummings

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go, my dear;and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

If you learn anything from e. e. cummings be it the beauty in disarray and provocativeness of simplicity.

Only Skin Deep

Truth be told, I never understood the saying, 'Beauty Is Only Skin Deep'. On a literal level, it isn't even true. Do people truly find what comprises the human body ugly? Because I think it is a most beautiful thing. Gorgeous. Complex. And stunning.

When people think of our insides blood comes to mind. But when did blood become such an ugly thing? Is blood not life? Technically, living without it would be fairly difficult. Here are some red blood cells. Now, tell me they aren't eyeball pleasing:

Break down the body and what do you have? A heart that pumps blood to all the organs. Lungs that keep cells alive with oxygen while releasing carbon monoxide. Organs that work harmoniously together. The brain that has a unique synergy with the rest of the body. All of this action happens inside us, ever minute of every day, and we don't even think about it. We draw a breath. Our hearts beat. Limbs move. And all without a second thought, but apparently, this isn't beautiful?

I beg to differ, check out this Fallopian tube.

And, if we look past the literalness of the saying and only consider it figuratively, then the statement is still false. Some of our most beautiful parts are below our skin. Compassion, forgiveness, hope, trust, understanding, peace, faith and love - are these all not beautiful things that exist inside us? Beneath our skin? Are they not comprise a beautiful human being?

I suppose not. In a broad sense, when we think about beauty we think about the lushness of one's hair, wideness of the eyes, fullness of lips and smoothness of complexion. Weight, height, breast size - these also go into making someone attractive. At least in magazines and movies. Could you imagine how different the world would be if we only based beauty on a person's ideas, thoughts, morals, and actions?

Random acts of kindness would triple. Or quadruple. Magazines would run articles about how to achieve people's moral compass instead of their bouncy hair.

Or what if we based if off how healthy their organs were?

Everyone would stop smoking.

In the end, beauty isn't only skin deep. In fact, it's not until you go past the skin that you really start to see the real beauty of most people. At least, that's why people are beautiful to me, their likes and dislikes, hopes and dreams, ability to love. I love debunking silly sayings. But really, Dwight said it better: