Nothing stays pristine forever...
no one stays the same way
for all the days of their life...
over time things wear out like old leather...
no one stays untarnished -
over time the power of the sun
damages the outer skin of something
or someone after a prolonged period of exposure.

Everything is impacted by outside influences...
everybody is marked by their time on Earth...
everything has a journey from its creation
to its destruction made up of events
that came as a result of their
encounter with outside forces...
everybody has their own
individual path through life
and at several points everybody
experiences moments of significance
on par with a moment of rebirth.

Life isn't a race...
life isn't meant to be rushed...
life isn't only about the world around us -
because so much of what connects us
lies above us in outer space...
for some people life is like a rock
that needs to be constantly
admired and occasionally polished;
but, to me, what makes life so special
is that every day, upon every thing and everyone,
another layer of character is added to what
makes something and someone what they are -
and some things and some people are meant to be,
and they are meant to remain
unrestored, tarnished, and imprinted
with life's indellible marks.