Can't Touch This

We were driving around doing errands, which included a stop for lunch and a cup o' bean to go. It was an ordinary day, nothing special, and it was a moment that could have passed by, completely ignored.

But she said, "I'm happy. This is a perfect moment. My belly is full. I'm in good company. I'm warm, and I have a warm beverage. Nothing can touch me right now."

It took me by surprise just as much as it made me think.

How infrequently it is that we stop to pay homage to life's simple goodness. How very rare it is that we truly occupy a day rather than just wander through it. Our awareness is clouded by myriad tasks and distractions.

When Steve and I first got together, almost every night as we'd snuggle in and begin to drift off, I'd ask him, "Know what my favorite time of day is?" "Hmmm?" he'd query. And I would answer, "Right this very minute." I stopped doing that somewhere along the way, for no particular reason.

Still wrapped in my warm bathrobe, I watched a brilliant sunrise this morning, the sky turning shades of gold, salmon, fuchsia, and lavender. I took a sip of my hot coffee. I thought, "This is a perfect moment. Nothing can touch me right now." And it was true.

Maybe in a minute, a day, week, month or year... something out there in the Universe will rear its ugly head and reek havoc on my pastoral little life. But that's not now. Now is just right. Now is the dream fulfilled, and I appreciate the moment for what it is.

Why don't we do that more? We're quick to curse even the smallest offenses and claim an entire day has gone to shit by the mild nuisance of being stuck in traffic. We'll jump into the fray of an argument without even bothering to check for any valid, good points. We criticize every weakness without championing strengths.

It's all habit. It's what we've learned. We tend to go with what we know.

I've heard it said that it takes two weeks to break a habit and/or solidify a new one. So, what if we make an effort to rewire ourselves? What if we reach for the positive rather than leaping toward the negative?

Well, I'll tell you what if. We will see our worlds unfold. We will find the beauty that our lives were meant to be. We will know and foster peace. We will make dreams come true - our own, and those of others. We'll be better able to appreciate the good in our lives.

I'll tell you what else. We'll be happy and we won't even notice it until we realize how unhappy we were before. Happiness is a choice. Happiness is the ability to choose what we see in any given moment. It won't be Utopia - bad things will still happen, but we'll be better equipped to deal with them.

I know you're going to accuse me of being an overly idealistic soul. I can hear the Pollyanna remarks coming. But, you know what? I don't care. Because in this moment I'm writing and sipping some fine bean. This moment is perfect, and nothing can touch me.