Captain Kirk was shorter than he looked standing on the bridge of the Enterprise. It was the regality of his surroundings, the poise of his stance, and of course the camera angle that made him look tall as a Norse god. Not that tallness makes the man. Astronauts are often short; better to fit into those tiny floating space-bottles to the stars.

To quote Monty, the internet cat, “…looking different doesn’t mean you can’t be fantastic! Looks don’t matter.”

I love Monty and his gentle persistence in teaching us humans to love each other. And Monty, though born without a nasal bridge, is undeniably cute.  

Looks don’t matter, and cats don’t care. They don’t strive to change their appearance, fit themselves to some arbitrary standard. They don’t wear bikinis, shave their legs, or pose for Vanity Fair.

The person I see in the mirror is me but not me. There is more to me than the gray face gray hair of old age. Do I dare to shine? To radiate? To transcend? Not because of anything I’ve done but just because?

 Life sparkles.

The magic hand of God, not to be taken lightly.