High on Happiness

Posts Tagged ‘delight’

It had been an enormous work—the building of the nest after the long flight northward, laying the eggs, brooding over them, keeping them warm.  And then the hatching and the feeding and the discipline and care while the goslings honed their instincts and grew through their babyhood.  (Oh my, weren’t they just the sweetest little chicks!)

But watching them now, so proud of their accomplishments, so capable, so pleased to be members of the flock, she readily forgot all of that.

Now she was content just to paddle along beside them, reveling in their growing skills, enjoying the sunshine on the green water and the petals floating by.  This was the season of leisure, filled with plenty, and with the easy practicing of skills.  These were the days of light and warmth and laughter.

As she paddled through the smooth waters, the heart in her great chest was filled with satisfaction and pride and delight.  And she felt the ancient rhythms flowing through the flock and she rejoiced in being part of the song.

Delight breezes in the door all breathless and shaking her curls.  She plunks her basket of fresh-picked pleasures on the chair and waltzes over to kiss you on the cheek.

“Hello, Darling,” she sings.  Her eyes are bright and sparkling and she smells of honeysuckle.

No matter what you were doing, suddenly everything has changed.  You’re enchanted.  The light is more luminous, the sounds sweeter. The emotions running through your chest are rich and profound.

All you want is to be in this moment forever, breathing the unexpected pleasures of simply being alive, here, in this exquisite now.

So may it be for you.  So may it be.

Dish yourself up some crispy green joy.  Lay in a layer of smooth satisfaction. Sparkle it with some slices of snappy delight.  Add a touch of velvety gratitude, and a handful of crunchy pride.  Mellow it out with some silky serenity.

Then toss it with love, drizzle it with creamy contentment and let it flow like inspiration over your tongue.

Feel free to heap on whatever tickles your taste.  Personally, I like mine sprinkled with laughter, spiked with a dash of wonder and awe.

Stark.  That was the word that floated into my mind as I stepped from the warmth of my car into the frozen landscape of the riverside park.

Ice flows jammed the river.  A sharp wind worked to open little patches of blue between the racing, heavy clouds.

The last time I was here, the place was lush with autumn flowers, gold and crimson leaves.  Now it was nothing but a field of days-old snow, dotted with bare trees and patches of dried, bleached grasses.

I walked along the hill above the river for half an hour or so snapping photos in the quickly dwindling light.  Then, as I headed back, the little cherry near the base of the bridge caught my eye.  That it holds it fruit through the winter strikes me as a sign that the Grand Intelligence behind it all indeed takes note even of the needs of sparrows, randomly scattering here and there little morsels of delight.

I had shot several frames of cherries silhouetted against the snow and the sky, when suddenly I spotted a large glittery snowflake that someone had carefully tied to a branch just above my head.

I stared at it in wonderment.  Who would have thought of such a thing!  What would have motivated someone to bring a single ornament to this vast park to decorate one obscure little tree?  Was it a gesture of commemoration?  A celebration of winter’s arrival?  Maybe, I thought, it was simply the donor’s own random act of spontaneous delight, meant to treat the souls of any who happened upon it.

It glimmered in my thoughts long after I left the park, piquing my curiosity with all the questions that would forever go unanswered.  Whatever prompted it, finding it was the highlight of my wintry stroll, and I’m smiling still, just remembering how it sparkled in the day’s last light.

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Don’t forget to pack some mirth as you dive into these days of joy.  Tuck it like wafers into your pockets, slip handfuls to your uncles as they walk in the door.

Laughter’s what makes it all sparkle, you know.  Smiles are what give it the shine.

Keep some whimsy on hand. Pass it out like fine chocolates.  Practice your chuckle ‘til its easy and free.  Be the party; be the star.  Stream your love light all around.

Let your heart’s delight peal like bells.  Let your joy shimmer like snow.

Go around whistling “Fa-la-la-la-la.”  Give your “Ho-Ho-Ho” full play.  Let them all look into your eyes and see that you think they’re just the cat’s pajamas.

It was just before sunrise on a clear, cold morning and streaks of rose painted the azure sky.   And there, on the window pane, a jeweled forest caught its light.

“Jack Frost was here!” a child-voice inside me exclaimed with glee.  From the time I was a small child, he’s been one of my very favorite winter visitors.

In the course of a few hours, while you’re drifting through dreamland, he etches his crystal treasures on every pane of glass – landscapes, fairy worlds, scenes from under the sea, gardens and feathers and exotic flying birds.  Each one is a miniature masterpiece, a playground for wonder and imagining, sparkling in the morning light.  How magical is that!

Oh, the marvels that appear in our world, gifts of delight intended for our joy.  You do notice, don’t you?  And you do laugh in joy and give thanks?  Oh, good!  I wouldn’t want you to miss the happiness of waking to such wonder.

May the season wrap you in comfort and joy.  May laughter fill your halls and music fill your dreams.  May those you love be near, if only in spirit, and may you feel their warm embrace.

May the child in you revel in wonder and delight.  May you see beauty everywhere.

May kindness flow from your hands.  May your lips speak the love of your heart.

May generosity pour from you in sweet measure.  May you offer peace and good will to all.

May you sense the connection of your soul with all living beings and see nothing that is not alive.

May you rejoice in the grand unfolding drama and overflow with thanks for the part that you play and for the wisdom it brings you.

May you walk beneath a star-filled sky and marvel at the mysteries.  May your heart open to embrace the flowing moments, whatever they may hold.

May you hear the infinite Yes speaking your name and calling you its own.  May you know that all is well, and that you are loved.

Long, long ago, when I was a little girl, Aunt Mae told me the story of the snow elves.   Normally they were invisible, she said.  But they could roll in fresh snow and it would stick to them for a little while.

If you walked in a woods strewn with oak leaves, Aunt Mae said, on the day of the first sticking snow, sometimes it was possible to catch the elves at play.

She supposed that other kinds of leaves might do, but every time that she had seen them herself, it had been on oak leaves.  She figured, she said, that it was because the ground was still warm, and that the thickness of the oak leaves probably helped to keep the elves’ snow-skin from melting.

“You’re making this all up, aren’t you?” I asked.  I’ll never forget how her face crumbled at my accusation.

“Oh no, dear!” she said.  “Listen to me.  The world is a magical place, full of wonders and delights.  You need to hold on to that, no matter what people might tell you or what life might bring.  Promise me that you will.”

There was a kind of urgency in her voice that stuck something deep in me.  I knew somehow that what she was saying was important and true.  “I promise, Aunt Mae,” I whispered, and she smiled and squeezed my hand.

I looked for the snow elves on the day of the first sticking snow year after year for the rest of my childhood.  But then other interests caught my mind and Aunt Mae’s story faded away into the realm of forgotten memories.

Yesterday the first snow fell here.  As much as the adult in me sometimes dreads winter, the child in me was filled with delight.  When I got home from work, I couldn’t keep myself from walking in the woods.  The beauty of it erased all my cares, and I fell into a trance of sheer happiness.

I had just turned toward home and was walking past the giant oak when a tiny bell-like sound caught my ear.  I looked toward it instinctively and there at my feet I saw them!  Snow elves!  A pair!   I could hardly believe my eyes, but I knew at once what they were.  “Hello!”  I said, astonished.

They giggled, and then, in an instant, they faded away, leaving behind oak leaves, holding the year’s first snow.

I stood there in silence for a few minutes, fighting against my grown up reason to accept what I had seen.  “See?” a soft voice whispered in my heart.  “I told you.”

And as I walked home, I felt a gentle spirit walking beside me, and I felt restored and filled quiet joy.

The beautiful thing about joy is that is comes in so many colors.  Sometimes it’s quiet and deep, sometimes it sings in leaping flames, sometimes it dips itself in the sunrise and paints its whole spectrum across the length of your day.

Entire days of joy are as rare as rainbows, I admit.  But almost always you can find a patch or two of joy somewhere:  A smile here, a laugh there, a moment of connection with someone you love, a song that moves you, a surprise unfurled.

The trick is to pick them up when you find them; stick them in your happiness pouch.  At the end of the day, string them all together in a little feast of savoring and delight.

The more you do that, the more joy-moments you’ll find.  And one day, when you sit down to look back through the hours and see what your happiness bag holds, a whole rainbow of joy will pour out on your floor.  And your eyes will mist over a bit at the sight of it as you realize how beautifully you’ve been blessed.

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!