May 2014

inexhaustible source of magic

Let’s geek out for a moment here. I love Harry Potter. I told you that in January in the post about audio books and the greatness of the library. Since that post, I’ve listened to “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” and I’m halfway through “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.”

The characters in Harry Potter are just so great. I love Snape because of his complexity, Luna for her weirdness, Neville for his sweet nerdiness, Hermione for her confidence, brains and creativity, and Dumbledore because he is wise.

Last year for Travis’ birthday, I gave him Dumbledore’s wand and, because I’m a child, decorated our room with balloons that had little pieces of paper inside with quotes from that old, wise wizard. (Side note … I love balloons.) This all led up to main gift – tickets to a John Williams-themed symphony where they would play “Harry’s Wondrous World.”

Now about those Dumbledore quotes … there are some gems, one of my most favorite being about words.

He says, “Words are, in my not-so-humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic. Capable of both inflicting injury, and remedying it.”

I really need to print this out and hang it in our apartment somewhere, because if there’s two things I love (along with Travis, and balloons, and sunflowers, and See’s chocolates, and a billion other things), it’s writing and talking. And while a lot of what comes out of my brain is probably mumbo-jumbo, if I could remember that words are sources of magic – for good or bad – I’d be a lot more careful about what comes out of my mouth and what lands on paper. Even careless slips can lead to jinxes that cause hurt, pain and/or embarrassment. And the words we tell ourselves are also very important, for if they are not good, they can cast the worst of spells upon our daily lives.

The best of words can create friendship, love and peace. They can remedy dark magic. They can simply roll off your tongue in some beautiful way. The right combination of words create the most lovely of images, describe exactly how we feel, and help people relate and feel connected.

Handwritten words are simply the best sometimes, and the words we say in the dark hours can sometimes lift a tear-stained face and heart. Words are magic – our most inexhaustible source of magic.

Yesterday, while perusing through Facebook, I noticed a wonderful Buddhist vow my friend posted … all about words and communication. I’m going to leave it with you with the hope we can all do better with this, especially myself.

“Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful speech and the inability to listen to others, I vow to cultivate loving speech and deep listening in order to bring joy and happiness to others and relieve others of their suffering. Knowing that words can create happiness or suffering, I vow to learn to speak truthfully, with words that inspire self-confidence, joy, and hope. I am determined not to spread news that I do not know to be certain and not to criticize or condemn things of which I am not sure. I will refrain from uttering words that can cause division or discord, or that can cause the family or the community to break. I will make all efforts to reconcile and resolve all conflicts, however small.”

And now, just for fun, we may as well end with more Harry Potter goodness, including me at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Florida three years ago and the Valetine’s by Yenniper I gave this year. Always remember I like your long bottom. If those words aren’t magic, I don’t know what are.

saturn’s glory

I’m here. I promise.

It’s been a while since I’ve posted and I’m going to blame it on my wonderful schedule change from the swing shift to mornings. Now I’m gone all day long and have things to do at night. You know, like actually hanging out with my husband. And cooking delicious dinners. And exercising. And ice skating lessons (yay for working on the bucket list!). I can’t complain one bit about having to wake up at 5 a.m. with work and other goals and activities that follow, but I think it has affected my writing time.

I do want to be here, though – in my little space on the web that reminds me to stay inspired, look for the good and write about it. Because let’s face it – there is so much good.

I really do live a charmed life in the blue-sky desert with Travis – yellow cactus flowers blooming across the street, sun-kissed mountains greeting us every sunrise and sunset, and hiking and biking trails just up the road.

Did I just say biking? Well, yes, I did. I’m trying and I’m liking it! Though some of those rocks and hills have me intimidated, I’ll get better.

I don’t have a lot to write today, but I wanted you to know I haven’t disappeared. I have ideas for this blog that will come together soon. But for now, I’m going to leave you with an awesome picture of Saturn taken by our friend Fritz.

Last Saturday, just as Travis and I were winding down to watch “Footloose” on Netflix (because we’re cool enough to watch that movie), our friends invited us over to see Mars and Saturn through their telescope. It was actually a complicated setup that didn’t involve us actually looking through the telescope at all. Instead, the image could be viewed on a computer as the telescope took a series of photos of the planet. Or was the computer taking the photos? All I know for sure is it was very high tech … and really cool.

I’ve seen Saturn at least one other time and there’s something about those rings that catches your breath a little. I know we all see photos of the planet our whole lives, but when we see the honest-to-goodness actual planet with our own eyes, it makes it feel even more real, and just a little bit closer.

Life is all about perspective, you know? Sometimes we know things are real, but they don’t truly feel real until we experience them for ourselves. Knowing and feeling are totally different things, and often feeling is so much better. So, this was Saturn that night, captured by a telescope in front of our eyes. It was definitely real that night, as were the Tootsie Rolls, Airheads, popcorn and Blue Moon. Here’s to warm summer nights coming up. To friends. To that crazy planet with the rings.