The little sparkles within the day pass quickly. Enjoy the present.

Today went very quickly for me, yet didn’t seem to leave anything of itself in a meaningful way.

Looking for meaning in that, I have only this haiku by Issa:

A giant firefly:
that way, this way, that way, this –
and it passes by.
Issa

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May love, peace and joy flow through you, to all who touch your world.

I wanted to break my latest hiatus by letting you know I’ve been thinking of you. I know I haven’t reached that many people with my words in the grand scheme of things. That said, I do believe that those whom I have touched have in turn touched the lives of others, just as I continue to share the gifts of insight and love that others have given me. We are sharing the human experience, and we can’t stop our influence from spreading beyond our reach.

It is my sincerest goal that my life bring more love, more peace, and more joy to the lives of those around me than I would have thought possible. And that, through enjoying those blessings we share, those lives then shine their light forward to illuminate the dark spaces of others. In this way, the light and love that I have received with may continue that work throughout our world.

Please, take a moment to remember something that is special to you, that warms your heart. Remember a thought, an experience, a talent or a dream that helps you feel your spark inside. Take three deep, slow breaths, savoring this moment of precious peace. Feel the sacred beauty of nature, and of the human heart, savoring that precious unity-point where the outside world touches your skin. Remember we are one people, sharing one planet, and enjoy a moment of gratitude for the opportunity to be a part of it.

Take another moment, please, to experience the positive, warm peace that dwells within the stillness. Form a memory of what that feels like. And from now on, whenever possible, call up that moment of peace to your conscious attention, to help you through a hectic time, or even to periodically brighten your day.

As you practice this, you can’t help but create a positive influence for the world you inhabit. May that warm embrace of the joyful stillness come easier and easier for you, until it shapes your every day.

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May today help us let go of what we feel chains us back from the past, freeing us to receive a freer, funner future.

I love holidays. I especially love holidays that help me experience especially joyous times for children.

Today, I got to fill plastic eggs with candy and stickers and toys and hide them in the yard for my toddler. I then got to help him find them, particularly one little keychain toy of a character he’s wanted to play with for many months, but I had only just recently found for him. He loves egg hunts, and he especially loved finding this toy.

Today’s holiday is always one of renewal and openness to fresh beginnings. It was especially enlightening to have the pleasure of enjoying it with a child who was ecstatically happy because of one simple, tiny little gift.

Here’s to welcoming the brightness and joy of the little things life brings us, helping us better prepare to receive the big things.

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The lovely thing about celebrating a day just to be joyful is that you can celebrate in any way that brings joy.

Note: I was so busy avoiding getting involved in any April Fools’ Day prank-posts that I forgot to post my own! So I’m posting two on the 2nd, but putting this to the 1st to put it on the right day on the calendar.  It seems appropriate.

 I like to celebrate holidays. I especially like to celebrate New Years Days.  I know there are calendars that mark their first day at many points during the Gregorian year, but my New Years Season tends to start with Rosh Hashanah and ends with April Fools’ Day.

I understand that it may not truly be a day to mock those who celebrate a New Year on a date other than January 1st. But it seems in keeping with the spirit of the day to celebrate it as a New Year’s Holiday regardless.

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Sometimes, it’s the tiny problems that remind us just how beautiful is our big picture.

I’m working at home this morning, and I turned to my home computer and saw where I had started a post last night before falling asleep. I’m not sure anymore what I was going to say.

I’m sitting here with a young puppy whining and barking to play some more, a sun conure squawking about how he wants to play too, and a fussy toddler leaning on me because he’s glad his mommy’s home and he wants attention.  All while trying to figure out how to arrange numbers on a spreadsheet so they help me pinpoint details in a nebulously vague issue.

Within all of this, the moment strikes me as part of a truly beautiful life. Every single annoyance is just one little part of something or someone for which I am truly grateful.

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There’s a light, electric feeling in the air that seems to carry me on its current.

Feeling clear and light.
I think: have I touched the sun,
or has it touched me?

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Happy Fifth Anniversary for this haphazard drinking fountain! Many happy returns to us all.

Just now, as I opened this page to collect my thoughts, I received the notice that I started this blog five years ago as of this very minute.

Five years.

Only yesterday, I blogged my 250th post.

How very sporadic, has been my life.

How very sporadic has been my consciously focused attention…

What’s funny is that I was trying to think of a way to describe how non-mundane the past 36 hours have been.  It’s felt like a veritable “cascade of surprises”, even though individually they are very everyday sorts of occurrences that just happen to be popping out of the blue nearly all at once.  So here comes another “happens all the time” surprise, that in my own life, I didn’t realize was coming:

So very ordinary, yeah?  No gilded scrollwork, no fireworks, but a kind encouragement sent to everyone regardless of whether they’re blogging good or not.  A humbly supportive “congratulations, five years have passed and you’re here to receive this message.”  And I think that’s pretty fantastic.

So I’m choosing to take that “W within the Laurels” as a personal symbol for my practice over the next few days.  I am going to kick my zen practice up a notch, and truly recognize the miraculous side of the mundane details, while also recognizing the everyday-ness of the surprising and spectacular.

Somehow, that takes some of the edge off the oddness of the past couple of days.  It also helps me feel prepared for the surprises yet to come.

I did sort of ask for it, didn’t I?

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For inspiration on how to live joyously, listen to birds reveling in a sunny day.

Trees gently rustle
Sheltering ecstatic birds
Evergreen winter

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Joy is beautiful.

There can be great beauty to be found in sadness.  There can be a pristine aesthetic in tranquil emptiness.  Even heartbreak carries with it the echoes of the glorious warmth of love.

Today I watched a baby go nuts with laughter as his feet were brought up to tickle his cheeks.

That brilliant, two-toothed smile was a lovely to me as any vista.

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Fear itself can seem pretty scary; realize you’re stronger than fear just once, and the whole world changes for you.

In trying to get everything caught up for the early weekend, I almost forgot to think! Then I came across a quote by Bertrand Russell, “To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.”

This weekend, let’s keep an eye out for the big and little fears that might hold us back from our wiser judgment, and from following up on wonderful opportunities for beauty, community, and joy.

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