Hide and Seek with Lucy

Beauty. It’s something that’s hiding everywhere we look. Maybe you don’t see it at first. Maybe you even go weeks with the ugliness of daily life being all that’s apparent. But it’s there, I promise.

Forgive me. I’m attempting to redefine a word that is oft used around us to mean that which is sexy, attractive, or money-making. No. These things are not beauty; not by themselves. Sometimes they interact with beauty in great ways, but the word is much bigger than these things.

I know, I know. Beauty is a word that freaks people out. No worries. Let’s call it by a different name if that helps. Maybe Lucy?

The problem with Lucy is two-fold: first, we get used to her way too easily. Second, finding her in new places takes work. Hard work. Work that, speaking for myself, just isn’t fun a lot of times.

“What in the world are you talking about here, bud?” You might be thinking. “I came to this here blog, and the last thing I expected was a sermon about Lucy or whatever the bleep you’re rambling on about here.”

Fair enough. But give me a chance. Just one. Still with me?

Ok, here we go.

Stop. No really. Actually Stop.

Take a moment right now. Close your eyes. Breathe deep.

Did you do it? Really? Come on. Give it a shot.

Alright, if you’ve managed to open them without falling asleep, close them just one more time and ask yourself this question:

What’s one thing from this very day that moved me in any way, massive or minuscule?

Can you think of something? Go ahead, I’ll wait here.

Did you get anything? If so, sweet! 

Don’t sweat it if you didn’t. If you’re like me, it takes quite some time to slow down enough to notice Lucy, wherever she’s hiding – to dig through the sludge of the ongoing struggles that greet us hour after hour.

Lucy = something actually worth our time.

Maybe she was in the outro of an incredible song that I’ve heard hundreds of times but never noticed before. Maybe she was hanging out with our cuddliest cat, Rogue, who knew I needed a nuzzle on the chin today. Maybe Lucy was whispering in the kindness of a colleague that refrained from jumping on the opportunity to attack and allowed me to learn from a mistake as they leant an understanding hand. Maybe she was there after a long drive to a National Park like Joshua Tree or Rocky Mountain. She reminds me that there are acres and acres of sacred, untouched majesty that care nothing of the things I’ve struggled with for far too long. There you are, my friend. It’s great to see you again.

Lucy has only one demand. It’s a difficult one, but something we can all afford: attention. Attention is our culture’s most in-demand commodity. Attention seems to be the only thing Lucy requires of you and me.

Lucy — alright let’s just call her by her real name — beauty is why I write. I think she’s not only out there, but waiting, longing to be unearthed. 

A great storyteller manages to take us to a place we’ve never been or maybe we’ve been too often to care anymore. In exchange for a “little” investment of that expense called attention, they show us a corner of the world worth noticing.

Here at eciov, whether discussing water bottles, political debates, or the last great novel we read, we want to foster the discussion of what’s worth your attention in any regard. Where should you invest yourself, time, money, heart, and soul? It’s our job to uncover interesting things. Sometimes, we may recommend covering a few back up.

But here’s where you come in. The thing about Lucy is that you’ll sometimes see her when we don’t. And when that happens, speak up. She digs being talked about. And we dig when you talk about her, agreeing with us, not agreeing, and anything in between.

Help us find Lucy. You have our word that we’ll give our darndest to return the favor.

Editor’s Note: Mac is a great author that we’re thrilled to have here at eciov. We’ll have his first book review up shortly. We’re giving him full creative control on his posts. We hope you’ll enjoy them as much as we do. Check out his short bio below for a link to his first novel: Come Six to Seven. I know you’ll enjoy it.