“We are the music makers,
And we are the dreamers of dreams,
Wandering by lone sea-breakers,
And sitting by desolate streams —
World-losers and world-forsakers,
On whom the pale moon gleams:
Yet we are the movers and shakers
Of the world for ever, it seems.”

The above is an excerpt from Ode within Arthur O’Shaughnessy’s 1874 book entitled Music and Moonlight.

Gene Wilder, in his role as Willy Wonka in the film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, speaks the first two lines as a response to an indignant Veruca Salt who questions, “Snozberries?! Who ever heard of a snozberry?”

I couldn’t think of a more fitting topic for tonight’s post. We have a perigee full moon on our hands, and countless dreams are perhaps being offered up to the heavens in countries around the world. The sight of the moon makes me think of it as a giant star meant to be wished upon, and I imagine people in cities big and small, villages, towns — even those at sea — looking up at it in reverence.

Some may simply notice its brightness, others may not notice at all. Some may be drawn to behold its beauty a bit longer than other full moons, others may wonder what all the fuss is about.

Regardless, for me it’s a reminder that when you think something can’t get much more beautiful, it might just find a way to become a bit more awe-inspiring. In a different vein, it’s a reminder that just when you think your ideas might be leaning towards stale, a jolt of magic moves you and something new is created. Just when you think the world is the same ol’, same ol’ — day in and day out — you realize it’s not…and that even our own tiny existence can be crafted to be as enchanting, as whimsical and as much of a daydream as we want it to be.

We might be questioned, scrutinized or made fun of for these worlds that we create, but in the end, it’s a constant stream of inspiration that we seek and that we try to give back to those around us. And that’s something the world can always use more of.

Tonight I am thankful for those movers and shakers who have inspired me, and for those music makers and dreamers of dreams whose drive and motivation inspire me to keep the creative flame alive in myself.