May we one day come to truly understand and find
the beauty in everyone created…
and may we further understand what creates that beauty
is how we’re all related.
And the only way this beauty…
can ever be perfected…
is when we come to understand
how by this beauty…we are all connected.
When I saw it in the store a few years ago…“What a cool hat!” I thought…
and since it was the only one in the store…I bought it on the spot.
I loved the colors when I purchased it…but could never have imagined that…
I’d get so many wonderful reactions every time I wear my hat.
Usually it makes people smile…it might cause them to stop and chat…
and I’ve long ago lost count of all those who say…”I love your hat”.
Occasionally when I’m wearing my rainbow colored hat upon my head…
It will remind people, usually older people, of the Grateful Dead.
The other day in a store…I was standing by this old man…
certainly older than me…
when I noticed out of the corner of my eye…he was staring at me.
Of course it was my hat not me that he was looking at….
and when I smiled at him he said…:
“Your hat reminds me of a time when I was younger
and me and a friend went up and down the east coast following the Grateful Dead.”
He said they made what little money they needed to live on every day
by selling Dead Head ’T’ shirts…every stop along the way.
A smile lit up his face…and as he walked out the store’s front door
and In that moment he looked a little younger than he had a moment before.
There is a little magic in this hat…when bought it I did not see…
And if that magic makes people smile or remember…it’s good enough for me.
In this world that has turned angrier…I am so delighted that
so many can find a little happiness in my rainbow tie-dyed hat.
I am grateful for this lesson I learned as a child…
when I was out in the world…exploring it…
how magic is so easy to fine…
when you’re out there looking for it.
May we be blessed to understand…
We are all magicians…
We all have the ability make another person smile…
We all have within us
the power to make them feel worthwhile.
There is an adage…a belief…I’ve heard some people say…
how every day may not be magical…but there is magic in every day.
And wondering if the people who use this aphorism really do know best
Here in North Carolina…we put this adage to the test.
We spent a day in Asheville…and before the day came to and end
we had the opportunity to meet with or talk to some of our family members and friends.
We had lunch with our great-granddaughter and her parents.
A great lunch where we couldn’t finish every bite
Then sat in the grass at the Biltmore Estate
and watched it light up at night.
We spent the night in a hotel…and soon after we closed our eyelids
our dreams were filled with the magic of everything we did.
Looking back without pretension…I would have to say…
with all the magic we experienced…It was a truly magical day.
But…we’ve also been blessed in our life…for we’ve developed a flair..
of finding little bits of magic everyday and everywhere.
In waking up together, enjoying flowers, sharing a walk
where sometimes we are silent…and other times…we talk.
Listening to the birds…smelling grass that’s newly mowed
eating lunch out on the porch…sharing ice cream…Rocky Road.
Which means when it comes to that old adage…
I have a different way to spin it…
Because I think any day can be thought of as magical…
if it has a whiff of magic in it.
May we all be grateful…
all those time we thought we were lost
for all the beauty that was revealed to us
by the strangers we’ve met
on the different paths we’ve crossed
Whatever path you choose in life
no matter where you go…no matter what you do…
don’t forget to stop every now and then
and appreciate the view
Whatever path you choose in life
no matter where you go…no matter what you do…
don’t forget to stop every now and then
and appreciate the view
I find it quite ironic that as I sit here in the mountains listening to the birds
How they only sing in melodies…they never sing in words.
Yet if I try to explain my feelings when I hear the singing of the birds…
All I have at my disposal…is the spoken or written words.
Which makes me wonder why I even try sometimes…because often I’ve conceded
to capture the beauty that surrounds me…no words are ever needed.
Beauty is personal…when we look upon something beautiful
there are subtle differences between the beauty we both see..
and I wonder if that’s exactly the way our creators meant for it to be.
The beauty nature creates for us…like the singing of the birds…
is meant to be felt individually within our hearts…
It was never meant for words.
Sunsets, flowers, trees, lakes, rivers, rainbows
clouds, summer rain, snowflakes…a distant thunder
Are meant to stir emotions in us
are meant to make us wonder.
We know how we feel when we experience love in any of it’s forms…
the sounds of a baby’s laughter
A kiss, a touch, a smile…a look
And how these feelings linger ever after…
Moments when the family’s all together…if only for a little while
is like watching the sun rise in the morning…it’s meant to make you smile.
There are so many moments in life that are beautiful in and of themselves…
moments that happen every day…
where the beauty of that moment is all we need…
where words only get in the way.
So many moments meant to be experienced…in silence…individually
and the fact that I’m using words to describe these moments…
Well…therein likes your irony.
I am grateful for all the beauty nature possesses
as someone who loves to write a rhyme….
with nature I will never run out of poems to write
before I run out of time.
So much we could have learned from those
who were the first ones on this land…
So much they could have taught us
So much they could have helped us understand…
For instance…
How ever human being our sister and our brother
and how the most beautiful eyes are the ones
that seek beauty in all the others.
When you drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway in the summertime
your eyes are on overload…
from the amazing vistas you see along the way
to the beautiful blend of colors that dot both sides of the road.
When it comes to all the colors…the best way of portraying it…
Is to say if you can think of a color…there’s a wildflower displaying it.
But I’d like to focus off the main road…into the forest
where we walked in alone…
and came upon this purple phlox…standing on her own.
We felt a twinge of sadness…and said “How sad and lonely you must be
to possess all this beauty that no one will ever see.”
“You humans can be so short-sighted.” She chuckled…
“I might be a flower no other human ever sees…
but everyday I’m surrounded by the earth
her grasses, her animals and her trees.”
“Whether or not I’m ever seen by humans…
doesn’t mean a thing to me…
As long as I am seen and loved by my forest family.”
“In nature we think of beauty differently…
which is sometimes hard for humans to digest…
every single part of nature is beautiful…
One purple flower’s beauty never stands above the rest.”
“I’m glad you think I’m beautiful…
But when it comes to beauty…the forest is a beauty we all share…
So go ahead and enjoy my beauty…
just don’t let your eyes stop there.”
We decided to take her advice…and looking all around her
we enjoy the diversity and the beauty of all the nature that surrounds her.
We stopped at that purple phlox……when it came time for us to depart….
To thank her for opening our eyes…our minds…
and speaking directly to our hearts…
As we walked away we wished every human would take the time
to walk into a forest…get down on their knees
and heed this simple lesson
taught by all the little flowers nestled in among the trees.
