High on Happiness

Archive for July, 2010

What an extraordinary convergence of factors it took to bring you to where you are!  Whole eons of time, upheavals of mountains, reshaping of continents and seas, great sweeps of civilizations, rising and falling, went into your making.

Every art, every science, every technology and religion, every nuance of politics, every war, every season of reason and peace made their necessary contributions.

And through it all, the great lineage of ancestors, each particular pair of them drawn together at just the right time, the specific sperm meeting the exact egg and each child conceived growing on to replicate the process generation after generation, passing down the codes that would result in precisely you!  Imagine!

How likely are you even to be?  Think of all the accidents that had to happen.  Think of all the ones that had to be escaped.  And yet here you are, a living miracle, opening to the sun, unfolding your gifts at this very moment in time.

And however humble you deem your gifts to be, however much you dream of being more, when you recall all the forces and destinies that worked to shape you exactly as you are, may you embrace the sheer fact of your being with a pure and luminous joy.

Of all the joys that life can bring, nothing tops the gift of friends.  Each one’s song sings to our hearts in its own special voice, its own special way.

Friends light the way when times are dark, and make the bright times brighter.  They comfort and encourage us, share our silliness, forgive our faults, celebrate our triumphs, and are there for us when we fail.

They keep our secrets, honor our privacy, help us with our tasks, support us in our missions, do favors for no reason, and reach out just to say hello when it’s been a while.

They give us their time, and trust us with the things that mean the most to them.  They let us know that we’re alright, even when we don’t see how we can be.

They walk our paths with us and help us carry our burdens.  They know how to be silent with us, and when to goad us, and when to tease.  They know what hurts us and what makes us laugh.

They’re our sunshine and our soothing.  They’re our best mirrors, and our pillars of strength.  They let us know we’re not alone, and that we matter.  And we keep them, each one, in special places in our hearts and give thanks for the priceless gift of their love.

When the Grand Yes saturates every molecule of air, when it paints the world in every direction as far as you can see, when you hardly dare breathe lest you break its spell, surrender, and give thanks.

When beauty is so complete that it dissolves every lie ever told, when it dispels every last shred of arrogance and melts every memory of pain, when it tears away all but the awe and wonder of being, revealing to you the central truth of your heart, whisper your yes, and give thanks.

This is the moment that love wrote.  This is its gift and its joy, all for you, all for you.  Sink into it with gladness.  Drink of its splendor, and give thanks.

Just as I pulled up to a stop light, a work van changed lanes to pull behind me.  Glancing in my rear view mirror, I was astonished to see face of a friend I hadn’t seen for many years sitting in the passenger seat and laughing with his companions.

When I knew him last, he had made some terrible choices and stumbled into a world of darkness and pain.  The thoughts of him that floated into my mind from time to time over the years dragged with them a trail of deep sadness.

Now suddenly here he was, alight with laughter on his way to a job, looking healthy and strong and well.  He wouldn’t have recognized my car or known it was me gazing through my sunglasses into the rear view mirror.  And I had only a moment to take in the glow of his smile.  But it was like the light of a thousand suns shining on my heart, and in just those few seconds, all the sorrow I had felt for him lifted and burned away.

“He’s happy!” I said to myself.  “He’s well!”

You know, that’s all we want from loved ones who have fallen into error: to know they found their bearings again, to know they’re happy.  What a healing realization the experience was for me!  Not only because the sorrow I had been carrying for my friend vanished, but because I realized that those who had seen me during my own sojourn into darkness were at peace about me now, that my smile, too, had the power to dispel all the sadness I once brought into their lives.

Finding the path to true joy is a miraculously healing thing, not only for the one who walks the path, but for all those who are touched by the light that radiates from him as well.  For the sake of all who love you, choose joy.

The velvet air brushing against skin cells, breezing through every strand of hair, kissing eyelids.  The thick, sweet nectar of sun-warmed apricots as their flesh gives way beneath your teeth.  The rustle of papery leaves, the sparkle of morning dew.  Gather these.

The dawn’s salmon sun, leaping through pastel clouds.  The glitter of fireflies.  The glint of fishes sliding through a cool silk pool. Take these home with you.

The tinkle of ice cubes in a tall glass of tea; the sizzle of dinner on the grill.  The blanket of stars and the sailing of the moon.  The fragrance of a newly mown lawn, of hay, of clover and roses.  The endless, streaming green of it all, and gardens punctuating the landscape with color.  These are for you.

The air so thick it rises in visible waves from the pavement; the way buildings seem to heave in the heat.  The call of the sandy beaches and laughing waves and basting bodies.  The symphony of birdsong: doves, swifts, robins, tanagers, larks, swallows, gulls.  Paste these in your memory; let them weave into your dreams.

Gather it; drink it.  Let it flow unbridled through every sensuous organ that you possess.  Let it envelope and saturate you.  Feel the lushness of every nuance of color and texture and sound and taste and perfume.  These are the glory days; the seasons’ crown, a gift from the tilting, whirling globe, come to open you and set you free.

A year ago Sunday, I set a goal to document the beauty of the changing seasons by taking a nature photo daily for a year and posting it on my Flickr page.

I knew, going in, that I would face days of rain and subzero temperatures, days when I didn’t feel especially well, or when work had drained my energy, or when I just plain wasn’t in the mood.  But the goal was so tempting, I set it anyway.  I would just push myself, I told myself.  And some days that’s exactly what I did.

Part of the enticement of the project was that it would require me to see how persevering I could be.  It was like accepting a dare from myself to see if I could do it.

And part of the allure lay in my wanting to test my theory that beauty is always present if you open yourself to seeing it.  Could I open myself to seeing it every single day?  Would I tire of the quest, or grow jaded?

Mostly, I was curious about what the adventure would teach me, what I would learn along the way.

This past Saturday I posted my final photos for the project, and the most dominant feeling I have about actually completing this goal is one of overwhelming gratitude.  Aside from the collection of photos itself—and I am pleased with them—the treasures the project produced are too numerous to tell, and priceless.

Not only did I discover hidden corners of my immediate surroundings (Almost all the photos were taken within a 12 mile radius of my home.)  but I discovered hidden places in myself, too:  Reserves of determination, wellsprings of joy, new ways to look at the world.  I learned that seeking beauty is its own reward, that beauty never disappoints.  It never fails to lift the spirit, and its restorative powers are immense.

But perhaps the most interesting thing I learned was about the power of a meaningful destination and the nature of the journey toward it.  The goal provides direction, and if it truly is a meaningful goal, filled with the promise of personal rewards, it also provides the motivation to keep you keeping on, even when obstacles are immense and the road is frozen, dark and foreboding.

But the joy is in the journey, in the moment to moment focus on the walk itself.  It’s in noticing the details, in allowing yourself to be immersed in the work before you, in appreciating the very step you’re taking now, the texture and sound and color of it.  The goal is an abstraction; but the journey is immediate and alive.  And when at last you reach your destination, it seems insignificant somehow.  The true rewards are the ones you gathered along the way.  And you wouldn’t trade them for the world.

That which gave rise to the vast dynamic cosmos with all its sparkling stars and to the deserts with their countless grains of sand, and to the livingness of fishes and whales and of orangutans, also painted, with such exquisite tenderness and delicacy, the rose.

Is that not enough to convince you that all is as it should be?  That you were meant to be, right this very moment, exactly as you are?

It doesn’t matter that we cannot grasp it, that it is larger and higher than our tiny minds can know.  It’s enough that we can sing and see and laugh and yes, cry and long and wonder.  Be at peace; you are loved and all is well.

That which gave rise to man, the music maker, the dreamer of dreams, the role player extraordinaire in the great cosmic drama, that which fashioned eyes and fingertips and opposing thumbs, that which gave rise to the sexes and to the grand tensions between them, which gave them the capacity for worship and joy, which breathed life into their lungs and heaven into their imaginations (that they might suspect), and set before them whole fluid worlds of possibilities: made you and is you and sings you and knows your unique name.

And you were meant to be, from the very beginning, exactly as you are, right this very moment.  Be at peace.  You are loved and all is well.

After a day of celebration yesterday with the Michigan branch of my family, I spent most of this Independence Day driving across breadth of Ohio.

Beneath a hazy blue sky heaped with whipped cream clouds stretched mile after mile of lush, green farmland, dotted by red barns and century old farm homes.  It seemed a fitting backdrop for the day, representing as it did, America’s heartland.

Occasionally, as I switched radio stations, I would happen on a tribute to American independence, an array of vignettes and views, each with its own flavor, describing some aspect of the still-vibrant Declaration of Independence that marked this nation’s birth.

The most quoted lines from that noble document are familiar to most of us:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

As I listened, I learned that in the days when the Declaration was penned, “pursuit” did not mean “to chase,” but rather “to practice as an activity, to do it regularly, to make a habit of it.”  So what Thomas Jefferson, the author of that line, intended us to understand is that we have an inviolable right to incorporate into our lives those habits that generate happiness.

As it turns out, the most authentic happiness comes from living our deepest personal values.  For that, we require liberty.  We require freedom of inquiry and intellectual exploration; we require that all manner of ideas be freely spoken, and written and shared.  We require the freedom to choose those values that resonate most strongly within our own individual hearts, so that we may live a flourishing life of integrity and meaning.

When we practice the habits that lead to happiness in its deepest, truest sense, we become strong, fair-minded, open-hearted, courageous men and women.  We live authentic lives, full of zest and passion and love and respect for our fellow beings.  We become robust and productive and oriented toward serving one another through the free exercise of our individual talents, skills and strengths.  We become the kinds of citizens the founding fathers envisioned living under the balanced yoke of liberty and law.

No wonder we shoot off fireworks on this day from one end of the land to the other.  No wonder we feel inspired.

As today unfolds before you, open your heart to all it holds. Anticipate it with joy; drink it in fully as the moments flow past. Then, as it comes to a close, savor the beauty and richness of all it held, for each day is one of a kind, unique in all eternity.

For you, it spread its gifts – its lessons, its pleasures, its challenges and blessings.   And each was custom tailored to reflect to you who you are.

Embrace this day, and draw it into your heart with love.  Send those who played their parts in it your gratitude and well-wishes, for they were messengers sent to you to bring meaning to the day, to reflect your joy, to illuminate your shadows, to draw you more fully into the great feast of being.

See the treasures that were set so plainly before you and let your heart be filled with gladness and with thanks.

It’s time for frolicking in the sunshine, for playing shuffleboard with the stars.  In the meadow, lightning bugs are playing hide and seek with the giggling flowers.

It’s time to put on your steppin’ shoes (if you want any shoes at all) and twirl and whirl your cares to the moon.  Now is the season for play.

Come glide on laughter’s rainbow.   Slide into the foam of the enchanted sapphire sea.  Let loose your mirth.  Send it on colored ribbons into the dawn.

Open your door and let your child-self run headlong into puddles of delight, of freedom, of the thick, sweet juice of being.

C’mon!  Let’s make play while the sun shines.  C’mon!