-Posted by Isaac

oh Best Beloved,

a beautiful princess

in a land far, far away,

traveled with a longing in her heart.

This was not so very long ago, Best Beloved.

The land through which she traversed was a magic land.

Magic filled the air and the water. 

The princess found magic in rock and snow and fire.

But all the while, there was a longing.

Her wanderings took her to enchanted places

where she met astonishing Giants,

and charming Dwarves. 

Both would bask in the warm glow of her admiration. But our princess, Best Beloved, was no fool in the forest.

Indeed, it was unwise to provoke the wrath of the Giants.

This was truly a magic land. 

At the day's end, both the roads and the last rays of sunset would kiss the world a soft goodbye and tumble into the sea. 

And our princess would lie upon the earth and listen to the whispering starlight. 

Each new day would bring a new search. Something was calling to her. Something almost forgotten, almost remembered, a hidden yearning.

What could it be?

This is not a fairy tale, Best Beloved. To be sure, our princess did not ache for a handsome Prince Charming.

No, she had clinched that deal long ago.

And certainly her Prince remained ruggedly handsome, what with his tight fitting cashmere sweaters, but she had found him to be only intermittently charming.

Something else was calling to her. Softly. Deep and true, she could feel it. Something not made by the hands of Man. Something wild, untamed.

As you may well know, Best Beloved, there is no wilderness quite so untamed as the roiling human heart.

Her treasure was out there. Calling. An unsolved riddle just beyond reach. Through the woods she journeyed.

Up and over the peaks,

through the high deserts, the fruited valleys, out to the rocky coast cloaked in fog, where the sky kissed the sea.

And still, her treasure eluded her.

But the princess remained steadfast. It existed! It was out there, just beyond her grasp. Something wonderful. A marriage of nature and Man, a blissful union of earth and sky and sunshine.

There were fleeting moments when she thought she had found it!

Alas, a quiet sip told a forlorn story- it was not this for which her heart called out. But oh so very close!

Our princess pressed on.

What else could she do? 

Up and down, the days they came. Like waves on the shore. The adventures of daylight slipped into tranquil evenings as soft as glass.

And it came to pass, Best Beloved, that one misty morning in the forest of Giants, our princess happened upon an undiscovered side pocket in her travel pack.

Her heart leapt in surprise! Here it was! The wellspring of her longing! 

She knew it immediately, and the forest bathed in her rippling laughter. 

She had been carrying it all along! And what better timing than to find her treasure just before the morning coffee.

The princess rejoiced!

And all the world with her.

So we see that our princess had searched for, and unknowingly carried her treasure the entire journey. By following her wandering heart, the journey itself became the treasure.

Such as it is, Best Beloved, with you and I and the Great Riddle of Life. Boundless adventures await- days of enchantment and hardship, warm sunshine and cold rain. You will find teachers and false prophets. Whatever your treasure, you will follow its call to the ends of the earth. 

And when the questions remain unanswered, when trials and troubles fall like a storm, when your 'happily ever after' seems just out of reach...

don't forget to check the side pocket!

The End.