The Magus, The Vitruvian Man.

FROM THE MAGUS, BY JOHN FOWLES

The young Nicholas Urfe meets Conchis, the mysterious phantom-like character on the fictional island of Phraxos, Greece.

Do you like my house? said Conchis.

Nicholas looked around. I envy you.

And I envy you, said Conchis.

You have the one thing that matters. You have all of your discoveries before you.

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This line grips me. I wonder where, and when these discoveries will come in my life. Every day has its possibilities. Often when I think about everyday moments and what they truly present, I think of Leonardo Da Vinci, a man who acted as if everyday was a great adventure. He was fascinated by all around him, every moment a new world to ponder. His iconic drawing the Vitruvian Man connects nature, spirit, body and mind into a beautifully woven being which we know as self. It’s our image of who we are, a vision of who we want to be.

Da Vinci related the different parts of the body — the head, the arms, the blood — to the spirit; the living, beating, flowing energy of the world, perfectly proportioned, like the great cathedrals of medieval Europe. We must only look at ourselves to see how nature is formed, the subtleties of its creation. One’s thoughts hold as much weight as the cosmos, with the same magic to create. I sometimes see the world this way, through a joyous, magnificent lens.

There’s a radiant energy that wells up inside of us that creates this feeling, always there when we decide to call on it. Days when I feel the ground beneath me as I walk, I feel purpose. Like beginning a new, wonderful book which has occupies your mind, your thoughts, it speaks to your soul. I feel this as I read The Magus, with its pages worn and yellow, yet so full of life, each word carries an image. As I read it’s as if I’m swimming in the azure sea of the Aegean, dreaming of past adventures, and foreign ones to come.

The twenty four hours we know as a day, we’ve broken down each one to something we can fathom, a minute — time that never ceases when we ask it to.

We move and we adapt, but we never stop moving.

Our minds wander, yet our steps continue as the world passes by. The light fades, and we’re left in the dark.

Leaves shrivel up and die, no longer in existence. Their time is up. But ours is unending.

Eventually the sun rises again, life springs anew. Our body regenerates and restores.

We’re connected, our body that moves, our mind which wanders, our soul, which speaks the unspoken language of the world around us, a world which never stops spinning.

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