sparkle

At the end of the fourth-grade, my teacher gave us river stones etched with a singled adjective. It was supposed to signify a positive characteristic that she had discovered within us. Mine simply said, "sparkle." The definition of sparkle is as follows: adj-glittery, shiny, effervescent, v-to throw out sparks, to give off or reflect bright moving points of light, to perform brilliantly, or become lively and energetic. Now, whether or not I am any of these things is a matter of personal opinion, but I still have that stone and I have noticed all the people that sparkle to me ever since.

For example, I went to Costco after work the other night and met a stranger who sparkled.  He's probably in his thirties and listens to death metal, not too much taller 5'7" with scrappy hair and wearing a sweater that looks like it once belonged to Kurt Cobain, heck he probably even knew Kurt Cobain once. He was quite and had a modest poise.  But I can't really describe what makes him sparkle, he just does.  He helped load my groceries into boxes and we talked about Wii-sport and X-box Kinect. If I had had a gold star, or better yet, a stone with the word sparkle on it, I would have given it to him.  But then again, giving stones to random people is probably not the most normal thing to be doing.  Personally, I would love to get a stone or a note or a STICKER! from a stranger...but that has more to do with my affinity for stickers than what constitutes normal adult behavior.

Anyway, here's a question to consider: what feeds your soul? For me, I think it's sincerity and curiously