Punctuation, it gives our language rhythm. Every comma, parentheses, period and exclamation, makes a moment of suspense, focus, emphasis and completion.

Without them our words would be difficult to comprehend. A mashpot of ideas with no real beginning or end. A story lost in the mix, indistinguishable from the sound.

And so in this sense we can also think about the larger language of our lives. The daily movements we make in every action we take. So often we hustle and grind, we go go go to get from here to there, to accomplish this thing and that, and sure, the wheel keeps spinning, but the plot’s far out of sight.

Because it’s in the moments of pause and reflection, of ecstasy, mystery and wonder, where we finally hear our hearts beat and our souls sing. The in-between times, where meaning springs forth and the long lost stories of our lives find their way onto the page.