Closing your eyes and feeling the warmth on your face and hearing the crackle in your ear from the fireplace. Going out in the dark beneath a silent clear sky cut by a full moon after a snowfall, before there are any footprints. Carefully lowering yourself into a steamy bubble bath. Taking the first sip of a cold IPA after doing an afternoon of hard work in the yard. Seeing your child becoming the compassionate courageous young woman you knew she would be and that the world needs. Scallops and Paella and summer peaches and homemade soup with bread from the oven. John Coltrane, anything by John Coltrane.
Watching your team win their first championship in the final minute or final inning or even on penalty kicks. Finishing a really good book and feeling sad that you will no longer be spending your evenings with those characters. Getting a good grade on a test that you studied really hard for. Finishing a run. Waking from an afternoon nap. Smelling something that takes you back to your Grandparent’s garage after Grandpa had just finished mowing. Visiting a new country and sitting in a warm courtyard with your eyes closed and your ears open. Singing take me out to the ball game. Hearing you and your sweetie’s song on the radio on a Sunday afternoon. Brushing and flossing and gargling. Holding a good friend after months or years apart. Crying.
Finding yourself at an unexpected new thrilling fork in the road. Holding a baby. Meeting a new person that restores your faith in people. Warmth. Gooey cookies. Crossing something off the to-do-list. Being reunited with a favorite art piece in a foreign land. Going to your special Restaurant that holds more meaning to you than it really should.
Watching Rudolph take the lead of Santa’s sleigh. Hearing the bells ring and knowing that an Angel is getting their wings. Eating a really good grilled cheese sandwich. Laughing so hard with a friend that your eyes tear. Learning a new skill. Knowing that today is a day which you will relive joyously countless times walking the path. Helping someone; helping yourself.
Getting a really good deal. Catching a bus after only a few minutes wait. Seeing Tahoma again levitating above the clouds as the sun dances golden steps on Lake Washington. Grilling fresh fish and summer ripe vegetables. Feeling the crisp night breeze brush across your nose as the house cools down. Waking with the sun and walking towards it bathed in the warm orange glow of secret mornings.
Paying it forward and sneaking out before anyone knows what you have done. Using your gifts to make the world happier and healthier. Going to bed after a day of physical work and sleeping soundly. Waking refreshed without an alarm without worries without expectations. Half-moon, pyramid, and warrior two. Knowing that you are over that cold or flu. Returning home from a month-plus of travel to your own bed.
Knowing that you and I are good enough. Being honest with yourself and others as a matter of habit and respect. Seeing a cute older couple walking hand in hand and knowing someday you hope to be that lucky. Being good and happy and worthy of the breath we borrow from tomorrow.
