Dearest ______,

Like most people with an ample amount of childlike wonder, I am a huge fan of Hayao Miyazaki’s cartoons films.

With everything that’s disheartening about the world these days- corruption, natural calamities, suffering, etc- wouldn’t it be just great to find snippets of Miyazaki’s beautiful (albeit fictitious) landscapes in all that we see in real life?

That we may follow unknown paths in our lives like so many heroines and heroes of Miyazaki’s world. Because they always come out of forests or dream sequences- adventures of a lifetime, really- if not slightly, then forever altered.

That we may accept grace the same way food is eaten inside Miyazaki’s world… drawn and described with so much detail that there is a palpable, real feeling of gratefulness for everything that is partaken.

That we may always find good friends in the most unexpected places, people, and things: big furry creatures who’ll bring you flying like the wind while your father is not around at night, red little children of the sea who accompany you while your mother is sick in the hospital, etc. That we may also be a friend to someone when they need one the most.

That we may always feel at home, where ever we may end up.

That we may be brave and heroic- doing good things for ourselves and others- no matter how small we feel in the grander scheme of the universe.

Love,

Karlita

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