Friday, March 21, 2014

Ode To Life

He ain’t heavy…

Every day we wake to the wonderment of life! 

If you’re reading this and think you’ve got it bad, keep in mind that there are about 6 billion people on the planet that would love to trade paces with you, right now!

You know what’s truly amazing? We breathe spontaneously; our hearts pound away without prompt; photons hit our eyes only to be reversed and transformed into vivid images; we learn every day… increasing our knowledge of ‘things…’ even as we age.

Need more? Look in the mirror.  If you’re wondering whom that old person is staring back at you, pause to marvel at where you’ve been, what you’ve achieved, how you’ve lived, and loved. We are able to find joy in almost everything, if we elect to do so.

So, you were delayed in traffic. Maybe you were late for lunch. Your boss growled when you walked by. Your pen ran out of ink.  Your hair curled when it started raining. Ketchup splashed on your silk shirt.  So what?  No, really… so what?

I was trying to think of the worst thing that happened to me today.  I can’t because I won’t, and because it simply isn’t worth it!  Then, I started thinking of all the good things that happened during my day…

I woke early and watched the sunrise over nearby mountains.  I enjoyed an egg white McMuffin and a hot cup of coffee for breakfast… a 300-calorie treat!  I worked with a small, high-performing team of geniuses, playing a small part in closing a business deal that made people happy.  My client often says “It’s only worth doing if there’s a win, win, win…” Well, we won and so did a new client, and so will our other clients, because of our newfound knowledge and experience gained!

I had lunch at a beach café overlooking a lake in a small city that I had not visited before. Later, dinner with two close friends… a quiet setting with a band playing light jazz, at the far side of the restaurant.

Then, a Skype call with my wife, three thousand miles away, but safely at home.  How happy and grateful I am to love, and be loved!  In fact, someone once asked why some people – including me – will only believe in something for which evidence can be presented, or found.  He used the example of emotion, e.g. love.  Asking: “Do you believe in love? Surely you cannot have evidence of love?”  Well… yes, I do have evidence of love… because love without evidence is called stalking!

Today, do you still make room in your daily life for the homophobia, hatred, racism and intolerance taught to you as a child? If the answer is yes, then that’s too bad, and very, very sad.

We have been granted a maximum of about 90 summers – 75 on average – depending on macro socio-economic circumstances and the life situation you had been born into.  How you choose to spend those summers is entirely up to you, despite occasionally experiencing sometimes overwhelming, external influences.

75 Summers… although “Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall.”  The song by Kenny and Fitzgerald (1944) was perhaps more familiar than the original lyric poetry work “Rainy Day” (by Henry Longfellow; 1842).

"And the days are dark and dreary.

Be still, sad heart! 
and cease repining;
Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;
Thy fate is the common fate of all,
Into each life some rain must fall…"

Even a fellow as miserable as Longfellow couldn’t help but add, “Behind the clouds the sun is still shining.”  No one can bring you down, not if you refuse to be brought down! 

Create your own poetry… cherish your love, and those who love you, life for the moment because it too shall pass.

… He’s my brother