There is a moment on my morning walk…removed from noise and crowds
when I look up to see which phase of the moon is peeking through the clouds.
There is another moment while walking in the silence
my face brushed by the morning breeze
when that breeze decides to break the silence
as it whistles through the trees.
Still another moment when the ebony darkness of the night
begins to share the heavens with the dawning of the light.
And yet another moment when out of the darkness hop the rabbits…
with the silent greeting they bring
followed by the owls whispering good night as the birds begin to sing.
How blessed am I to walk in the morning and experience along the way
moments like these which often become some of my favorite moments of the day.
“I have a question.”
She smiled at her husband with whom she’d been married forever and a year.
She was confident she knew the answer…but…it’s always nice to hear.
“Have you been happy all these years” she asked
“Yes!” He quickly and happily conceded.
“For everything I’ve ever had with you…is everything I’ve ever needed.”
Then he wrapped his arms around her and asked,
“What about you…all these years we’ve been together…have you been happy too?”
“Yes.” She smiled.
“I’m glad you chose to make this lifelong journey with me.
And I’m happy knowing after each adventure…in your arms is where I’ll be.”
And here is where we leave this old couple…
Embraced in silence…remembering their highs and lows
with smiles wide…undaunted….
thinking how blessed each one has been in living a life
where everything they’ve ever had…
is everything they’ve ever wanted.
Holidays are special to us…we excitedly await them…
and when those days arrive…we love to celebrate them.
On birthdays we make wishes, open presents
after blowing out the candles on our cakes.
At Christmas we sing carols, open presents
and eat cookies that we’ve baked.
Every morning on my walk I see birds flying…
and hear them singing as I pass by…
It looks and sounds like they’re celebrating.
throwing a party in the sky.
Which makes me wonder as I listen to the joy they are creating…
What is it about every day they could be celebrating?
Birds do not have calendars…no special dates to claim…
no holidays to anticipate…yet they celebrate each day the same.
They don’t need to wait to blow out candles…
for a special day to come their way.
Every morning they celebrate…opening the gift of another day.
Celebrating every day they are alive…
Is that one of the craziest things you ever heard???
Or:
Could we all learn a little bit about joy and happiness…
by watching…
and listening
to the birds?
Once upon a time I was a little boy who grew up amid joy and laughter…
where every fairy tale I ever read ended with happily ever after.
And that’s what I dreamed for myself…a life of joy and laughter
that started with Once Upon A Time and ended with Happily Ever After.
Then I grew up and as I searched to find myself…
I realized along the way
in between Once Upon A Time and Happily Ever After
is where my story is written every day.
And just like in those fairy tales…along the way I meet
obstacles I have to overcome…villains I have to defeat.
I have faced ogres, witches, dragons, giants, and big bad wolves I’ve had to assail.
There have been pirates I’ve had to fight and castle walls I’ve had to scale.
And as every fairy tale I’ve ever read hoped that I would learn…
after every hardship I’ve encountered…my happiness returns.
Yes, even after the giants have been toppled and the dragons have been slayed
even after the big bad wolf has been dispatched and the pirate relinquishes his blade..
Even after every adversity that in my lifetime I have faced
even after all of these….a smile has returned to my face….
Which makes me wonder if the fairy tail of my life should read:
Once Upon A Time there lived a boy who grew up amid joy and laughter…
who despite the villains he met along the way…
learned how to live Happily Even After.
We are blessed to know a woman…who we are sure the gods designed
to be like sunlight in a bottle…and oh…how we love to watch her shine.
Just as the sun warms the land as it rises every day anew…
whenever we’re lucky enough to be in her presence…we feel her warmth too.
She has a glow she shares with the sun…an aura that surrounds her
an innate, inherent ability to brighten up the world around her.
If you’ve ever tried to catch sun in a bottle…you know it’s impossible to do…
because the sunlight will escape…and radiate on to you.
The true beauty of this person…what makes being around her so much fun.
is even if we’re with her only for a moment…
we know…we have brushed against by the sun.
It's too delicate to understand…too difficult to explain…
how once her sunlight touches you…you will never be the same.
So….
If you are blessed to know a person you think is like sunlight in a bottle…
be that a child, a woman…a man…
may we suggest you bask in the glow of their sunlight…as often as you can.
Because not only will it make you feel good…
but
everywhere you go…
you will begin to notice…
how you too…start to glow
When I entered the world I entered as an I…and soon I was able to see
to MY great satisfaction…how the world revolved around ME.
How easy it was to make people comply…with MY unspoken intentions…
because all I had to do was cry…to get their full attention.
I suppose it has to do with how fast time unfurls…because shortly I was shown
that there are other people in the world…that I was not alone.
I imagine it wasn’t easy for ME…learning I was no longer the only gem…
and that most of the time I was awake…I had to share my time…with THEM.
I imagine since I did not understand…I probably thought it a little unfair
but that was the moment I started to grow…when I first learned how to share.
From the moment I began to share…I also began to see
MY world was made up of THEM and THEIR…not just of I…and ME.
In fact the moment I started thinking of YOU…is when I began to thrive
knowing I needed YOU…and YOU needed ME….in order to survive.
Happiness doesn’t always come easy…which is why I eventually came to see
If happiness is what I wanted…I had to stop thinking of ME.
For I will have highs and lows in MY life in whatever I say and do…
but the best way for ME to find happiness
is when I share these highs and lows…with YOU.
Yes, happiness can be found in OUR pronouns
in every second, of every minute of every hour…
It begins the moment when I and ME AND MINE
evolve to YOU and US…and OURS.
May we be blessed to acknowledge all the wonders in our life
that have, for us, thus far accrued…
and to begin each day with a word of thanks…
and thoughts of gratitude.
Today I’m thankful for happiness…
for I know happiness is not a myth….
and I know my happiness is always enhanced…
by having friends and family in my life…
to share my happiness with…
After experiencing a wonderful production of Spamalot…it reminded me to always find a way
no matter what life throws at me…to look on the bright side…every day.
It’s not that I haven’t experienced tragedy or loss…
that there haven’t been moments I’ve been sad.
It just…when you look on the bright side of life…
you realize….the good consistently outweighs the bad.
When I look on the bright side of life…I realize how blessed I’ve been…
let’s see…if I was keeping score…
although death and sorrow have touched my life…I’ve never been to war.
Except for a few aches and pains…I’ve been healthy…I’ve never been depressed
In all the years I’ve been on this Earth…I’ve never been oppressed.
I’ve never been told I’m less than someone else…that I don’t belong…I don’t fit in
because of my religion, my sex, my race…or the color of my skin.
I’ve never been judged harshly because I don’t fit some universal diagram….
I’ve never been made to feel I’m different…or wrong…because of who I love…or who I am.
Having never had my joy rained on by the dark clouds of judgement or bigotry
I’ve been able to walk proudly…unafraid…and listen as the whole world sings to me.
Since I’ve never had to worry about what other people think…my confidence is strong
and on the bright side of life…when I know the words…I happily sing along.
Looking on the bright side isn’t always easy…
It’s like the actors, actresses, and musicians on the stage…
who didn’t know of Spamalot before…
Anything that’s worthwhile in life…is…worth working for.
If you want to learn how look on the bright side of life…
I know where that philosophy is being taught…
by the staff of Theater Exceptional…
currently at the Central Park Performing Arts Center in Largo, Florida
in a place called…Spamalot.
I’ve mentioned how I love celebrating those big moments in our life…
weddings, Christmases, birthdays…you know the ones I mean…
but how I also love the everyday moments of wonder and beauty…
you know…those moments in between.
It stormed all day in the mountains and while we waited for it to wane
we ate breakfast lunch and dinner on the porch while listening to the rain.
As more storms rolled in and the sky around us turned a little gloomy
we watched a romantic comedy starring Julia Roberts and George Clooney.
We played some games, we read our books, we listed for the train,
we worked on crosswords, took naps and watched hummingbirds in the rain.
We teased our friends and family in Florida as a heat wave they’re battling through
by sending them a photo of our temperature…a chilly 62.
I played my harmonica on the porch…I thought harmony filled the space…
until Deborah remarked how every song I play sounds like Amazing Grace.
We braved the rain to see a musical at a local theater based on a fairy tale novella.
There was singing…there was dancing…a new twist on Cinderella.
When the musical was over…with the final bows…the epilogue
the rain had stopped and we drove home in the darkness and the fog.
It was another day of little moments…no big moments that I’m aware
But once again in these little moments…we found our comfort there.
Yes, the big moments in our life are wonderful…you know the ones I mean
but most of our happiness can be found…in those little moments in between.