Oh The Places We Go!

     Oh the things we experience!  From mewling and often troubled beginnings we venture ever onward, unfurling our story behind us with every breath.  We are given history and culture before we are even old enough to speak. Timeless character is written upon our beings and we, with every rise of the sun and fall of the moon, carry our questions and convictions into an unknown future.  Can we see it etched into the lines of a smile?  Do we notice it in the cast of a stranger's eye?  Are we keen enough to perceive it when we stand gazing into our own stark reflections?  What we see there, and often forget, is the unflinching artistry of an individual's journey, carved into visage and demeanor.  Dreams, both realized and lost, are there in plain sight for all to see.  We have only to take note.  We have only to stop ourselves long enough to truly observe, and then all becomes clear.  In a single moment we can realize that a person who stands before us is not our reactions to and perceptions of them, but rather a being whose story bears its own weight and depth.  We have only to pause to remember that each set of eyes we encounter is not always willfully as they present, but merely the reflection of a tapestry woven of experience.  Every one of us is impacted both by choice and circumstance.  Each one of us occasionally flinch beneath the mantel of our unique tale.  No matter the difference in detail, nor the length of the story, every single one of us shares this.  We are author and audience, actor and playwright of this occurrence we call Life.  So i beseech thee friends, family, loved ones: Remember this fact when the light falls dim at the end of a day and you stand silently gazing into your own stark reflection... you are not alone.  You share something remarkable with every other human in this world... a unique story that could be told no other way.  Recall this and be humbled.  Reflect and let compassion fill your heart.  For no matter how coarse and convoluted our society may be, at the heart of it all is a cacophony of stories told one at a time, private yet shared.