I'm driving home, stopped at a red light. A few minutes later, as I cross the intersection, I go from overcast brooding sky to torrential Florida rain. There is something wonderful in the moment, something intimate as the skies break all around me. And I realize I have been happy all day. It hits me that I am a lucky woman.
It's not my circumstances- they can be heartbreaking. It is that somewhere along the road, I've picked up the ability to enjoy the moment. To appreciate just moving and breathing, music in the background, as I go about my work day. To absorb the warmth and the sun, even when it is torrid, or accept the invitation to settle in when the tropical rains come. In short, to enjoy just being alive. Who could have it better?
Sometimes, when things are really tough and I'm feeling overwhelmed, I think of the Taoist story about Chef Ting. And I think to myself that I've had to live my life in the spaces between the joints, as if others had gotten much more. Camus' Meursault thinks he could get used to living in the trunk of a tree. I wouldn't go that far. But I do know that there is happiness to be found in the spaces between the life we thought we would lead and the one we have.
1 comment:
Great, great post.
Post a Comment