JOY RESTORED

This is an old post but I want to run it here again. Maybe mainly for myself. Do bear with me awhile, folks, as I indulge myself for this one time. For some odd reason after going through this piece, I felt my joy restored. :-)
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THOUGHTS RUNNING THROUGH MY MIND TODAY

Everybody needs a friend. And if I were ever asked to paint or draw one, here’s how that person is going to look like. First, it’s going to be a big head to hold a big brain. After all, that person has to be a teacher and a guru, adviser of different capacities, a walking encyclopedia, a mathematician, a doctor, an expert on relationships, and should be a whiz at finances. That’s a lot of brain power and storage. Then huge ears like the elephant. And why not…after all there’s going to be long hours listening to my endless stories of cares and woes. Then a bigger heart bigger than the brain. Because needed is a bottomless pit of the right emotions to my wrong ones. Then wide long arms that can stretch it like Plasticman does for plenty of hugging and embracing. Yeah, that’s how my friend would look like. What isn’t included though because I can’t find something that would aptly represent it is the -- spirit of a child able to wonder and awe at the marvelous beauty of all of universe and share these with me.

Here’s another – how would I draw God? Okay, imagine a huge red heart. Then sticking out from all its sides are millions, no zillions, of eyes and ears and hands. The eyes to see every person and situation, ears to listen to every woe big or small, and hands reaching out with definitive purpose…all emanating from one big glowing red heart throbbing with so much love, mercy and compassion for all of his creatures. And not to forget...... lips that turn up at the corners in one big happy eternal smile!

Looking out my window now, I can see the day softly and gently making its bow. Soon it will be night. The day was good; it went by in sweet calm and peace although this was shattered for a moment back there when the garbage truck came in mid-afternoon collecting garbage from house to house. Such ruckus they created. Why the fuss. It’s only garbage! Picture this – housewives calling out shrilly to someone inside the house to bring out the trash, the truck driver honking on the horn announcing its presence, the sound of bottles and cans dropping into the back of the truck, the men shoveling up remaining dirt, and the neighborhood dogs fiercely barking at them telling the intruders to get off their territory pronto. Phew! But I would agree with the dogs. Shoo...guys… pronto! I want my peace back!

Dogs! I’ve got two. Local breeds although I sometimes suspect some foreign blood got mixed up in their veins. Everybody should have dogs for pets. Tails wagging, loving eyes welcoming, ears always alert for the sound of his master’s voice paws so eager to climb up to his master’s lap, and possess that one quality no human being can claim close to or emulate ---- pure unadulterated devotion and loyalty. At one time our house was home to five dogs. Imagine five sources of that wondrous attention for days without end. Hah felt like a queen!

But I don’t take them with me on my morning walks. Not with lots of unfamiliar dogs roaming the paths I trek. Oh they’re the neighbor’s pets alright but I really don’t fancy my dogs getting into a fight with them. I know how territorial these animals can be. So it could be nasty. Anyway, it’s more enjoyable taking these walks alone and free to savor the cool breeze atop the hill, admire the lush foliage, listen to the sounds of nature rising to the morn, and be amused with the ruckus created in the homes waking up to the day’s chores. My place is situated on a mountain range. Our side of that mountain range is called Antipolo City. In my walk I go through uneven ground – several inclines I navigate with heavy breathing till I reach the top. Then I thought to try a new trick. Now this time I’d walk across the incline at an angle to the other side and cross again back to where I came from still in that same style and repeated my newfound skill until I got to the top. Hah it worked! I’m a genius. Oh yes, it’s got a name. I call it my ‘angled walk’. Lol Did it benefit my heart? It sure did – I was happy!

We all want to be happy. We even fight to be happy. We fight with others, fight with ourselves. Just to have a piece, if not all of it, of this elusive thing called happiness. Searching far and wide, high and low, leaving no stone unturned, swimming treacherous waters – searching. But only to find out that it was all inside of us after all. Happiness comes from within – not without. It doesn’t depend on externalities because those things are simply fleeting and superficial. True happiness can be had by anyone and experienced in any clime, time, and situation. It’s inside you – knowing your worth and part in this vast universe, knowing that you matter -- basking in the profound knowledge that you are a child of the universe.

And now I lay me down to sleep… oh glorious sleep! Soft pillow under my head, warm sheets cover me, Winnie the Pooh snuggled close beside me…and I turn down the lights. Goodnight, world.
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Lolz and there it ends -- joy restored. I hope that you too will find your own joys in your life and return to them again and again. Because often life sends us too many odd things which manage to drain away the joys of living. Once in awhile when the world presses down too hard upon us, we need to stand back lose ourselves from this maddening world and energize, recharge ourselves. Indeed it is wise to learn to take those two tiny halting steps backward -- so that having recharged ourselves we can again make that one brilliant step forward and shine through with much greater light! :-)) God bless you all!


posted on Tuesday, August 08, 2006 8:59 AM