The world is a magical place. Meadows dressed in yellow flowers surrounded by 1,000 year old giants of the earth. Alpine Lakes sitting at the base of snow covered majestic peaks that extend their tops to the sun. The flight of seagull gliding effortlessly over the open sea.The gentle movement of a stream as it meanders through the forest. Morning mist that shrouds the rocky coastline of the Pacific ocean. A hibernating oak tree standing alone with it feet covered in snow. A lonely solitary country road winding its way along a green pasture on a winter morning in February. The golden leaves of an aspen tree on a crisp autumn day in the High Sierra's. Footprints in the sand leading to nowhere on a beach with no humans in sight. Two lovers looking into the fading face of the sun as it takes it's last bow of the day. Purple and yellow flowers bursting with color in an otherwise desolate landscape of Death Valley. A lighthouse standing all alone in the distance sharing its light with those who have lost their way at sea and fear the retribution of Poseidon...and... The flickering flame of a vanilla scented candle which is currently providing the light for this writer. There is magic all around us. There is beauty all around us...and...There is love all around us even though at any time we may not feel it's touch or understand it's depth. At any given moment we may feel that magic, beauty, and love has left us and been replaced with a void of darkness...but let us not forget that the existence of darkness does not have the power to extinguish the light or the magic, love, and beauty of this world. How do I know this? Because, since the beginning of time the two have always co-existed and even when it looked like darkness might destroy the light there was always the beauty of a flower, the loving hands of a mother, or the magic of the creation everywhere.