Gracie Magdalena Wilde

       Gracie Magdalena Wilde and I have been friends since we were kids.  Like most soulmates, we have drifted apart from time to time but when we connect again it is as if no time has passed.  Gracie makes me feel alive and for her I am always appreciative.  She has such life about her, such vitality.  She has the most open heart of anyone I know.  Not only is her heart open, but so is her mind and her attitude.  She takes life and people just the way they are.  I have never known a person who could roll with the punches as well as Gracie does.  That's not to say she doesn't get discouraged at times and, trust me, she is not a Pollyanna, head-in-the-sand airhead.  Quite the contrary. Gracie is smart, very smart.  She is intuitive and can engage a wide range of emotions.  She always lands, however, in a place of acceptance and tolerance.

     One of the most attractive features about Gracie is her ability to be playful.  She is passionate about life and she reads and thinks about all sorts of things but, in end, she can laugh at herself and at the world.  She is good at practicing something she calls "amused detachment."  As I understand it, that means that she can keep situations in perspective.  She can work to change what can be changed but she is also good at accepting what can't be changed and, yes, she is good at knowing the difference between the two. If there is nothing she can do about an unpleasant situation, she is able to simply assume the role of observer.  She can disengage from the games and yet watch the players and their tricks.  In all parts of her life, she smiles often, though certainly not constantly.  It's not as if her smile is painted on her face or that her smile is, in any way, false.  No, it is a genuine smile that is reflected in her shiny eyes and the crinkles around those eyes.

    Gracie is not stunningly gorgeous but that smile turns her into a most beautiful woman.   People are attracted to her physicality.  She is of average height and weight, with an athletic build - not tiny thin but not heavy either.  The muscles obvious in her arms and legs are testament to her enjoyment of physical movement and she walks comfortably in her own skin.  She is also a most sensual woman, happy to touch and be touched.  Her eyes are especially wide open to colors and textures in the world.  Many is the time when I have been with her and she has stopped dead in her tracks to exclaim in amazement at the tree or the flower or the sky or the leaf on the ground that has caught her attention.  She often seems compelled to reach out and touch whatever it is upon which she is feasting her eyes.  Her excitement can so completely draw me in that it allows me to see something that was invisible before she scanned it.

     Gracie knows what matters to her.  She is the queen of perspective and I marvel at her wonderfully balanced life.  She makes room in her days for adventures and action and yet there is also a time and space for reflection and solitude.  She does not hide from the current culture (she gets a kick out of her ipad and her access to Netflix) but she is not immersed in every element.  Like me, she loves her boots and clothes in general but, unlike me, she is content with one pair of boots, a few sweaters,  and a couple of jackets.  She likes to dress comfortably but still stylishly but she never goes overboard with that sort of thing.  She doesn't spend a lot of time focusing on appearance but she clearly doesn't ignore it either.  Gracie likes to socialize with friends and family but in moderation.  She will enjoy a glass of wine but I have never known her to drink to excess.  She says she doesn't like getting sick the next day.

    I know my life has been greatly enriched by Gracie's presence.  I wish I could hang out with her all the time but she has a habit of fading away and then I can't find her.  She is so inspiring and I want to be in her wold more of the time.  In order to do that though, I need to figure out how to get her to hang around more.  I want to make her less of a shadow and more of a confidante.  I want to share her laughter and her stories and bask in her good vibes.  I'll have to work on this.