Joan

by Katherine J. Chen

Life may be full of suffering. But sometimes a ray of light shines through a crack in the wall, and one can pass a hand through a rainbow and see one’s own skin turn the color of the heavens.

There is still a place for beauty;

But sometimes the circle breaks. There is a pause, a lull, and in that lull is when angels grant wishes, saints sign off on prayers, and God arches His ear, listens, and nods.

But first you must step out your front door. You must leave behind what you know and possibly what you love. You must be willing to lose every inch of yourself, for the next time you look into a stream or a mirror, which may be weeks, years, or half a lifetime from now, you will not recognize your reflection. You must risk this much in order to gain what the world is ready to offer.

There are many things in the world one can inherit: money, land, power, a crown. But an adventure is not one of them; you must make your own journey.

I would like to think it is possible to be strong without also being cruel.

What is it about our early years, Joan thinks, that leaves its indelible mark? A slap, a punch, a violent shake stays in a child’s memory like kernels planted in new earth, and from these seeds spring sometimes bitterness, sometimes violence, other times fear. For what is put in a child’s heart will never grow there of its own accord. So, we must be careful. We must, if we can, be tender.

What you see and how you see it can change your life. A sleight of hand. A shift of perspective, and one can suddenly become an instrument of the Divine.

For a man cannot see anything in the world without wishing to wear it like a trophy on his back, to call himself master over it. To her, this is what it means to be a man.

“Everything begins with a dream. What is a prayer but a wish?

a place unlike any other. On every wildflower, a butterfly. In every tree, a songbird. The sun never shines too bright, for the hands of the angels moderate its rays, and from their mouths, they blow cooling breezes so the climate is eternally spring. It is a place God reserves for only His most loved,