Monday June 21, 2010...The living is easy

Summertime and the living is easy.
It's hard to sit down and get serious when you feel lazy. In fact, it's hard to get into gear and do anything when the living is easy and the sun is warm and everything is green and lush. Sorry about that, but my mind has apparently been taking a summer vacation for a bit and didn't feel like putting serious thoughts onto paper. It isn't like the world has stopped being mean and nasty while I've had my hiatus. The oil continues to spout and the senate continues to stall and the world continues to pile up debt while the rest of us try to eke out a meaningful life. Sometimes it's hard to see the big picture and maintain our sense of right and wrong.

I need to stop watching and reading the news. All I see is the BAD news. I need the GOOD news. Even the cartoons can get a bit vitriolic at times. I just need to lay back on the wet grass and feel the summer breeze blow over me and watch the puffy white clouds form into whimsical shapes. It's good to ignore the rest of the world at times and just to BE in your immediate surrounding world. If I good reach inside my mind and attain the peace and quiet of a long forgotten summer day when I was young and less aware, I could relax and be happy once more.

Sometimes I wake up with that peaceful feeling, listening to the morning quiet before the bright sunshine has stirred the rest of the world into its hectic pace. It's a contemplative time when all things are possible and life is good. I haven't shaped my thoughts or made plans yet and have no immediate goals except to lie there and slowly awaken. All my limbs seem restful and supported and my brow is uncreased with no worries. My mind is content to just be there with no pressure and no direction. On those mornings, I will try to gradually focus my mind on one fact – that it's going to be a great day and I have no pains and no worries and only feel joy. It helps to start the day off that way.

Summertime really is vacation time. You don't have to multitask and you can put off those plans until tomorrow because tomorrow will be another bright and beautiful day, just like today.

Stay happy and healthy and enjoy the day.
This day will never repeat.
It happens only once in your lifetime.
Make a memory of today.