Becoming Prince Charming Ch 7 - That Kiss...

Is there anything more iconic than that kiss?  Nothing was timid or unsure.  He walked right up to her sleeping form and looked at those perfect lips and kissed them.  There is a lot of reasons why he should have hesitated.  Really, it does seem odd when you think about it.  What right does this man have to go and kiss the sleeping princess? What if it doesn’t work? Or, maybe worse, what if it does and she is horrified?  Did he check his breath or put on some chap-stick?  Was this all planned or did he get caught up in the moment?  Did he approach her as some kind of savior or was it just a private expression that ended up with magical powers?

In this journey I feel that I’ve come to know my dear friend the Prince.  I don’t know if the results of the kiss surprised him or not, but I do believe one thing for sure…  

He made that kiss count.

After all the preparation and all of the questing, when Prince Charming gets to the moment for which he has been waiting his whole life, he is in awe of her.  She is more beautiful than the movie playing in his minds eye that kept him on the journey.  This face, these lips, helped him cross kingdoms, fight dragons, and storm castles.  When he sees her, all of the visible circumstances tell him that he has reached the end of his journey in failure.  She is gone…he has lost.

None of that matters.

There is still the matter of the kiss.

It’s what he came here to do.

He is bleeding from the battle.

He muscles ache with each step.

He doesn’t notice any of it…his time has come.  This is the moment of his calling.

We kiss for different reasons.  There are the hello/goodbye kisses, kisses for children that comfort, kisses for friends that give assurance, kisses of homage given to our elders, and kisses of passion that expresses desire. 

This is a kiss of honor.  This isn’t a taking kind of kiss.  This is a kiss that recognizes the princess heart and kisses with boldness…but not arrogance.  I don’t think the prince is at all sure that his lips contain the cure for what ails our heroine.  It’s simply that hers are lips that require the right kiss.

It’s that kiss that has magic.

True love.

No pretense.

No selfish motive.

Merely the proper attention to beauty.

When it comes to kissing, our man Charming gets it. A kiss that counts is one that comes without fear.  It honors and recognizes the lips it engages. It flows from the very depths of the princely soul.

It breaks the spell of every bad kiss.

It sets free.

We all come in different shapes and sizes.  Some of us are tall some short, some muscly some best described as a long, tall drink of water.  Each of us has talents that others of us wish we possessed because it would make us more desirable.  We all wished we were how we imagine Prince Charming…and many of us fall short.  However, our prince’s real charm doesn’t lie in his good looks or singing ability.

It’s in his kiss.

So, my princes in training, fight for the princess heart that you seek.  The quest is ours.  When you come, come correct.  She is worthy - so be worthy.  

And when you kiss her…don’t hesitate, don’t quiver, don’t apologize.  

Kiss her with honor and kiss her well. 

Then let whatever magic is to flow…flow free.

But be ready…

honk if you can read this

I'm spending the evening in a beautiful town on a flawless night on the Delaware River. There are street musicians on the sidewalk playing "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz on a guitar and banjo. In 30 minutes there will be fireworks that will be visible from my table at this cool garden cafe. I'm sitting under trees filled with white lights that are rustling in the soft breeze. I'm enjoying a merlot, I've shared laughs with the host who is the spitting image of Dick Van Dyke, and I'm about to spend the evening writing.

This is a nearly perfect evening...nearly.

I've been considering solitude tonight. There is something about being human that causes me to want to share this experience. I'm seated at a table in the middle of the patio with a literal spotlight over the chair where I sit. There is comic perfection to it. It's not that I mind being alone, in fact I often relish it, but there is something that wants to say to another human being "isn't this nice".

There is an old quote that says "we read to know we are not alone". I would amend this to say "we tweet and hope we are not alone". You and I want someone to hear about our lives and share in the joys and griefs of being us. I'm spending the evening alone, but want to tell you all about it

Lonliness and solitude can be welcome companions. Tonight, those I love are cared for and where they need to be. I can celebrate that. I've spent the evening allowing each one to prayerfully pass through my soul as i sit here. Tonight, that is what I can give to them. I don't even mind the place in my heart that aches. It means I'm still alive and that I can still feel. Walking through lonely nights also means I can...that is also worthy if celebration.

This all being true, I celebrate the longing because it means I'm human. I'm made in the image of my creator who had a whole universe and made someone to show it off to. He wasn't needy or pathetic. Life is just too good to go through without sharing...to see the world through the lens of another.

Everyone around me, regardless of what they believe about spiritual things, repeats this cycle of creation with every touch of their companion, every comment about dinner, every story told, and every shared kiss.

Well, I'm almost finished with my flounder and Dick Van Dyke has promised deserts to die for. I'm going to have the Chambord Chocolate Cake and a coffee.

Its a beautiful night in a perfect place...

...and I can't wait to show you.

$5 Umbrella

 If you read the "gift" post, you might be wondering how the night went.  It was an amazing night, an amazing venue, amazing company, perfect weather, and a great show.  Lisa is a comfortable performer...like a minstrel in your living room, singing songs about love, lost love, and old camp songs and about what's presently happening in her life - which right now was all about being a first-time mother.

Anytime you go to a show given by someone whose last hit was over a decade ago, you expect it to be like finding an old LP.  You dust it off and listen to the hits that made you dance...putting the record back in it's sleeve after the reminisce is over.  If there are new songs, they lack the magic of freshness of the earlier hits (in her case; Stay (I missed you), I Do, etc) so when she pulled out the piece of paper with the lyrics to the song she had written the night before I didn't plan on being very impressed.

What came was a song I've been thinking about the entire week.

The song was called $5 umbrella - imagery really only understood by those who have been caught by an unexpected storm while walking through Manhattan.  All of a sudden, the people who have, just moments ago, been selling I Heart NY shirts now have a table filled with umbrellas of all shapes and sizes.  All for five dollars.

The vendors shout to every passerby the offering and its price knowing that what was a minor annoyance for the citizens of gotham was, for them, solid gold.

I have purchased many a five dollar umbrella.

Now, dear reader, you might think that I have a closet filled with umbrellas as a result.  You would be mistaken.  In fact, I don't think I have a single one.  The design of the umbrella, as well as the point of the song, is that five dollar umbrellas are meant to help you get through the present storm to more permanent shelter.  Usually these portable tents address their mission with skill, though we've all seen a poor soul struggling with an inverted twist of metal and nylon as their temporary protection succumbed to a strong wind.  But beyond the single use, a five dollar umbrella just doesn't last.

The song was striking in that it linked the imagery of the umbrella to some of the things we use to move us through our own storms.  Life comes at us unexpectedly and there are these offers of shelter.  They are inadequate and unworthy, but (kinda) keep us dry before they fail so we walk with them...for as long as they last.

As I listened to the song I thought about a scene in a T.V. series in which I have been investing my free time.  There is a tradition, with this particular collegiate club, of jumping off a tower holding an open umbrella.  Now, all of the jumpers were harnessed so, technically, they weren't using the umbrella to actually slow their fall, but regardless I would wager they weren't using five dollar umbrellas.

See, when it actually counts, we want something that lasts.  When our future depends on it, an expensive umbrella is worth the investment.  It's the difference between just surviving and truly living.  When one has the right umbrella, you are ready to make big jumps...ones you would never consider if what you held barely stopped the rain.  If you never have take the time to find (or be) the right umbrella then life is just a series of darting from building to building hoping what you carry gets you to the next doorway.

My life has piles of discarded canopies...and I've found myself on a few piles as well.  Storms come and I'm often tempted to take the offers of temporary asylum from those who call through the rain.  However, I find now that my desire is to climb to the top of the tallest building and jump, floating like a Poppins on the breeze.  I've saved my dollars and heading to the store uptown that sells the one I've been eyeing for years.  I'm hoping it will still be there when I arrive - I couldn't get there any faster than my journey has allowed.  I don't even care that I'll be soaked to the skin when I pay the craftsman because I'm not looking to stay dry.  I'm here to fly...

...and that requires more than a five dollar umbrella.

note to sleeping boys

My Sons,

Be men who bring life wherever you go

Live fully

Drink Deeply

Laugh Loudly

Cry Ugly

Treat the women you meet with honor

Love well

Stay in awe

Let yourself fall in love

Try to choose a worthy heart

But go big

Be strong

Train you body

And your mind.

Be prepared

Never the one people have to wait for

Or excuse

Be a gentleman

Dress in a way that honors others

Use your power to heal

And to help

Hold Doors

Walk on the street-side of the sidewalk

Keep your hand on your sword

But grace on your tongue

Do not hesitate to defend

But do so for love

Not pride or position

Accept earned leadership with humility

Be worthy of the trust.

When your heart breaks

Let it break

But don’t stop or pretend

              Learn and move forward

Let yourself feel

Know the difference between feeling better and

Feeling numb

Between healed and scarred.

 Listen

Celebrate beauty

Music

Art

Writing

Flowers

Perfume

Everything about a woman

Find God

Not in any book

Or system

But in your soul

Find a muse

A reason to breathe

Know always, there is a father who loves you 

More than I can say.