Towards the end of "Manhattan" Woody Allen's character lies on a sofa recording things that make life worthwhile. Mozart's "Jupiter" symphony and Cezanne's pears make his list. 

   Where do you turn for what Stephen Dunn calls your "grand holiday of the mind?" What musings make your life worthwhile?

   Sunday morning brought one of those surprises that populate the landscape of joy and startle the soul. A hummingbird dropped into my backyard and glanced over at me as if to say, "Isn't it fun that I can stand on air?"

   In "Meaninglessness" Dunn wrote: "The definition of beauty, Valery said, is easy;/ it's what leads you to desperation."  

   Where's the comfort in that? Beauty's embrace fans a wake of desperation. Her poignancy hurts.

   Beauty brings soul-tears. The hummingbird arrives and then sails away. 

   The photo I took of two brothers is one of my favorites. Those boys are gone, replaced by the fine adults they have become. 

   "He'd learn, but forgotten," Dunn writes, "the pointlessness of seeking; he was, after all, alive,/  and desire often sent him aching/ toward some same mistake."  

   Perhaps, the "mistake" is not in Beauty but in seeking her as if, once found, we can trap her. Letting her arrive, noticing her, accepting her departure may help you understand another kind of Beauty called serenity.

   Beauty is holding a sparrow – too tight and she will die, to0 casually she will fly away. Still, we know we must let her go.

   Beauty simultaneously affirms your heart and pierces it. Living Love on this earth with passion and commitment takes courage. Yet, Love is our only salvation. 

   We are, "after all, alive."

-Erie Chapman