Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Michael Has A Great Day!


Although I had a very pleasant Christmas holiday, and I received more gifts than I deserve, life has quickly gotten back to "normal". What is normal? Most of the time my life is very hum drum and even boring. The endless cycle of work and sleep and obligations sometimes seems to be a wheel and I am the pet hamster. It is not a bad life. One gets lots of exercise spinning on the wheel of life. As the Grateful Dead sing in their song entitled "The Wheel", The wheel is turning and you can't slow down, you can't let go and you can't hold on, you can't go back and you can't stand still, if the thunder don't get you, then the lightning will! When I woke up this morning it was just a normal day. The alarm clock seemed to go off way too early and I did not get nearly enough sleep. Things got better from there. Soon after arriving at work I received confirmation about some good financial news that will cause some money to flow into my bank account. No, my 401k did not double in value but I am getting a bonus. At lunch time I drove over to the local Veteran's Hospital to have lunch with my friend, Wayne, who is a chaplain there. We had some wonderful conversation that was intellectually stimulating and I was energized by the exchange. When I left the hospital it was the peak hour of a beautiful, springlike day. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, and the air was cool and intoxicating. This was especially nice considering the fact that it is actually early winter. When I returned to the office and was walking through our park, the smell of freshly mowed lawn filled the air. The grounds keeper was cutting the grass and collecting all the rotting leaves that have gathered on the ground in recent weeks. I felt like I was walking on air. I felt an incredible lightness of being. Last summer at a Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers concert, Tom Petty remarked, "Wouldn't it be great if life was perfect just for a moment"? Well, for me, today was perfect just for a moment. It wasn't extraordinary in the sense that something truly special or unique happened. However, just for a moment, everything came together and there was a sense of unity and wholeness that is not always present. Today I just seemed to appreciate it more than I have been lately. It wasn't a kick in the head wake up call. It was more of a subtle but noticeable awakening.

3 comments:

Littlefair said...

Maybe a *little* early for this but your post made me think of this:

Ecce gratum
et optatum
Ver reducit gaudia,
purpuratum
floret pratum,
Sol serenat omnia.
Iamiam cedant tristia!
Estas redit,
nunc recedit
Hyemis sevitia.


(From Carmina Burana)

Michael Brown said...

Help! I need a translation!

Littlefair said...

Oups!

Here you go Michael:

Behold, the pleasant
and longed-for
spring brings back joyfulness,
violet flowers
fill the meadows,
the sun brightens everything,
sadness is now at an end!
Summer returns,
now withdraw
the rigours of winter.

(I'm not clever-I have the sleeve notes:-)