Withered Magic

TODAY'S QUOTE:
“We all start out knowing magic. We are born with whirlwinds, forest fires, and comets inside us. We are born able to sing to birds and read the clouds and see our destiny in grains of sand. But then we get the magic educated right out of our souls. We get it churched out, spanked out, washed out, and combed out. We get put on the straight and narrow and told to be responsible. Told to act our age. Told to grow up, for God's sake. And you know why we were told that? Because the people doing the telling were afraid of our wildness and youth, and because the magic we knew made them ashamed and sad of what they'd allowed to wither in themselves.”
― Robert R. McCammon

The depth of this truth is as close to bottomless as it ever gets. It blows my mind and breaks my heart. There is nothing quite so soul-shaping as suddenly coming face-to-face with a most unpleasant, yet profound, reality.  It may be truer for some... or more tragic, but we should all recognize where it belongs in our own private evolution from infant to adult. I would never assign it as a right of passage. It is what it is. An ugly truth is harder to look at than most, but trying to dress it up won't dilute its poison. Accepting facts becomes essential to survival, when true understanding is the only antidote we possess.  

I agree that we all begin with magical abilities that radiate directly from the soul outward toward the people and things we love and trust. We start this journey filled to bursting with positive energy. We do not begin owning walls for protection, those are built later. We are not born knowing that trust is earned, we simply trust by nature. A child knows nothing of agendas... cannot comprehend baggage... does not realize that loving is often the most painful of emotions.

Little kids don't think anything is impossible... fear and doubt come later. Negatives are manufactured most often by the ones they love the most. It's a crying shame, but it's a fact that none of us "grown ups" can deny.  Not because we all are misfits, but because all of us remember our innocent years and the people who wounded us into compliance. My parents didn't mean to make me feel less than I was... I never wanted to cause hurt to my children either.... but... well, you get the picture.

At no other time in our lives are we able to create an entire universe inside such a small arena. Imaginations aren't limited... to make something come to life, we simply act it out and believe. Love is pure, trust is soul deep, and unshakable. Parents are God's. This quote rotated my reality, sending my mind reeling back through time. There is no easy cure for a condition that we all suffer from. All I know for certain is that our inner child stays with us throughout our lifetime. We can either keep it imprisoned, because we've been conditioned to value it less, or we can free it because we realize its true worth. As always, think about it... let it ride... then decide!!!!

The Fear of Falling

TODAY'S QUOTE:
Never be afraid to fall apart because it is an opportunity to rebuild yourself the way you wish you had been all along... Unknown

I'm of the opinion that we're all fractured in one fashion or another. Some of us suffer more damage, some of us less. Some of us are burdened by pressure from others. Some of us borrow trouble, or hoard misfortunes as an excuse to blamelessly fail. Staying broken seems easier than doing any repair work, since once mending has begun we take full ownership of the finished product.

Why we're broken matters... who broke us is important too... but the only facts vital to our recovery are, determination to patch our own weaknesses, and reinforce our strengths. Blame leaves us without the tools needed for a lasting restoration.  It guarantees that all the power remains with whomever or whatever created the havoc in the first place. What happens to us has some influence, but how we choose to react is of much greater importance. We can either mar or mend. That choice always belongs to us alone.   

The patterns left behind by mistakes made and heartaches paid are as unique as snowflakes. Some cracks go deep, while others just spider here and there. The cracks weakening the center, yet smooth to the touch remind me of old china. One solid tap and the saucer is filled with nothing large enough to glue together. Struggling to put it back as was is useless. We see this in a negative light at first glance. But a shattered person can be reshaped and renewed in ways that are almost magical.

If my house burnt to the ground I wouldn't reconstruct it brick-by-brick into the same pattern it has now. I'd rebuild it into a perfect dwelling that would ease my soul in every corner. Life is like that fierce fire sometimes, almost consuming but not quite erasing who we are. I have scars, but I don't build monuments to them. I've been knocked to pieces by others and fallen apart all on my own. I'm fractured and flawed.

And the building and rebuilding and rebuilding goes on and on and endlessly on. When I lay in pieces, I know that when I'm whole again I'll be different somehow. How different and different how is totally up to me. I'm alive and the choice is mine... I can be content to simply survive... or I can throw caution to the wind and dare to thrive. I miss you Jerry Lee... I know how you'd HATE me to settle for survival... once loved never forgotten!