Shimmering Saturday

When I left for my Just 10 walk this morning, I puzzled over how to explain "Shimmering Saturday." "What a stupid thing to call it", I said to myself. 
"You've carried alliteration too far this time, Carol."
"Chill." said a much wiser self.

"Remember what shimmering means?"  She asks.  The smarter self is full of questions.  Look up the word and you'll find your direction." 
So I did.  Dictionary.com says this:
–verb (used without object)

1.

to shine with or reflect a subdued, tremulous light; gleam faintly.

2.

to appear to quiver or vibrate in faint light or while reflecting heat waves.

 

The wiser self says, "Shimmering Saturdays are a chance to peak behind the shimmering curtain that separates the ordinary from the extraordinary."

 

I remember how young children live in a world full of impossible possibilities.  Santa Claus, fairy tales and imaginary friends are all quite real.  Then, we grow up.  In order to function within our culture, we have to let go of these beliefs.  Magic flees our world.  We get caught up in the day-to-day struggle.  We live for the weekend or vacation.  We feel like we're missing something as the years fly by.  We look to fill our emptiness with people or things, often too excess.  Our emptiness remains.  In our struggle to fill it, we fail to accept it.  This emptiness is the place where magic plays.

 

On my walk, I struggle to reconcile this emptiness with contentment.  I left the house desperate to fill the hole inside myself.  I wanted to cast off my life and slip into a new one.  I am wishing my life away while all around me beauty and joy await discovery. 

 

The sun feels good on my face.    Alongside the trail an explosion of pink delicate flowers bloom.  The scent of wild roses teases the air. 

"It's OK to feel empty," my wise self says. 

"Everyone does from time to time.  It's part of being human.  Come,look behind the curtain."

 

A shimmering curtain opens in my head.  I slowly walk up to it and peak behind it.  I like what I see.