The beauty of the morning light
can often take your breath away...
the frigid conditions of a Winter's day
can often make you wish
that you could stay in bed...
the sound of the birds chirping in the trees
can make you feel hopeful and optimistic
for what might lie upon the path in front of you -
especially when you look around
at where you live and you are captivated
by what you see on display...
for some people when they experience rubatosis -
the acute and often unsettling awareness
of their own heart beating in their chest -
it can make them think about and wonder
whether and when their mortal journey
will come to an end.

Every morning when I wake up
I open my eyes and I question
whether what I am looking at is real,
or whether I am still dreaming -
but it usually doesn't take me long
to realize that everything around me
is what is happening,
because if I were still dreaming
then I would be leaping around
in my mind to places, to times,
and to possibilities that I would
mostly be uncontrollable.

Whenever I have looked out
to the waves of an ocean,
or above to the stars of the night sky,
I have often been spellbound
and hypnotized by the fact
that no matter where I go and what I do
I cannot effect that which has been
in motion for longer than there
has been a moon...
I have always loved the magic
of not knowing everything
and considering every day
the first step on an adventure
into the unknown as well as an exploration
into the depths of the familiar -
because I have always believed
that if given the gift to be able to learn
about somewhere, about something,
or about someone, what have we got to lose?

There is a reason why the sun
and the moon rise and set every day...
there is a reason why life is short
and why memories are important...
there is a reason why when we look
at something or someone we see them
as being beautiful, indescribable, special,
and a perpetual blessing.