SPLENDOR

"RESTFUL" oil,
by Tom Brown

    I hope these words don’t sound too prideful or self-admiring, but I must say that I see splendor in myself. Of course, it’s the same splendor I see in every person I pass in the grocery store, in every manifestation of sunshine, in every shade of color on quiet winter days, and in every drifting ripple in the Mystic River. This entire universe is an endless and fabulous display of splendor, and since we’re all part of the universe, we, and all things, share in the splendor. Somehow, all over the earth, lungs keep lifting and falling with beautiful evenness, and hearts keep helping billions of us – people and panthers and butterflies – stay strong in splendid ways. Just the fact that I can carry my teacup to my lips is a magnificent accomplishment, given the countless nerves and muscles that must flawlessly function together in the process. When birds wander above the river, they do it, always, with smoothness and splendor, and when the girl greets me at the grocery checkout, her smile is a minor miracle to me. All of us – people, small stones on the shore, flames in a winter fireplace – share in the splendor of this earth that somehow and miraculously became our home.