You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord. - Isaiah
Jimmy Buffett sings: It takes more than DNA to tell us who we are,
It's method and it's magic. We are of the stars.
But even listening to Jimmy with a top-shelf Margarita in our hands, can't convince us sometimes: Can't convince us that we are more than flesh and blood... more than the sum of our experiences. Can't convince us that we are more than our genes and chromosomes... more than our grades in school... more than our ex's memories of us, or our pile of regrets and broken dreams that we carry around in our emotional bag of tricks.
We hear motivational speakers and new-age preachers babble about how we are all stardust - how we are all offspring of light. We read inspirational posters that exhort us to "Believe and Succeed," or "Fly With the Eagles;" but, there are many days when life seems oh-so- mundane. Routine. Dreary and tedious. And we feel far more like pasture patties than light and stardust.
If we are - in any way - connected with magic and the stars, then it would naturally behoove us to spend a bit more time in their company. And maybe, that's the problem: When we pass more of our hours in front of the television or computer than under the moon... when we bumble through our days wondering about money rather than simply wondering... when our idea of fun is to get wasted rather than to waste an evening with a good friend, then we may unsurprisingly feel disconnected from our magical heritage.
And, if all else fails, spending a moment or two remembering a time when you felt fully and unconditionally loved, either by another person, or by a sunrise, or by the taste of a mango or by your own sweet self couldn't really hurt.
Maybe Jimmy's song would be a good New Years' song. Maybe reminding us of our magical love connection is what every new year could be about.
Howard has made it clear in many ways that he is ready to emerge from the holidays. As wonderfully holy and inspiring as their essence might be, Howard has always struggled with the commercialism, the pressure, the frenzied buying and partying. But with all of it, Howard has had some wonderful moments with his daughters, family and ladylove. And with the joy of those connections, he is ready to move into 2016 with a firm resolve to (as he puts it), "spend more time in the woods and listen to more Jimmy Buffett."