Rekindling

I've said of a character in a book review: While being a very real, multi-dimensional (no magical pun intended) character, at his essence he represents that shallow, self-obsessed part of ourselves that refuses to find the magic in the mundane all around us.

I've also written: I do my best to pay attention to my surroundings and find things to marvel at, because that makes life more wondrous.  Because of that, I like to think that Life's More Exciting Inside My Head.

A few weeks back, my wife shared the quote at the right from The Parent's Tao Te Ching on Facebook, saying I have that gift and it makes me an outstanding father.

This makes me far from unique or special, but I don't do it to be unique or special.  I do it to be happy.  Magic, wonder, and marvel are good things to feel, and they remind me each time of the joy of being alive.  And, even though they most often happen in moments of isolation, they make me feel more positively connected to everyone and everything else.  They make me a better person.

Not surprisingly, two kids under two years of age is a drain on the energy, particularly for an extreme introvert like myself who needs much time alone inside my head to recharge (and considering I'm old enough to have done this 20 years ago without being too young for it).  I'm always in a fog of listless weariness.  I'm doing my best to keep my tiredness from casting a gloomy light on everything, making me negative and grumpy, but it seems the default alternative I then slip into is apathy--too tired to feel good, I'm left choosing between feeling anger and feeling nothing.

Yesterday was a truly beautiful day--especially for mid-summer in our area--and I took some time over lunch to get away and look for magic in the mundane.  They're nothing extraordinary, but these pictures help me find that.  They help revive my happy.